A War Once Waged
by LadyBaSingSe
Summary: Kataang. The war is finally over, but there may be some complications; as was expected. Definitely not my best work.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: The first chapter. It's kind of short, but that's just because it's practically only the opening. BTW: I am a ****FULL**** KATAANGER! I will **_**not **_**abandon that, so if this seems Zutaraish to you, it's not, trust me. It's full of Kataang... well maybe not yet. .:. WARNING!!: May Contain Spoilers! .:. Review if you will. Thanks. **

**Just to clarify: This is a month after the battle with Ozai. Aang: 13, Katara: 15, Sokka: 16, Toph: 12, Zuko: 17, Mai: 17, Suki: 16, Ty Lee: 17. Will add others later, if they occur... Zuko is now the Fire Lord, and has been reunited with his mother. Iroh is alive; may add other information later if need be.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Chapter 1

The young, blue eyed waterbender strode down the hallway with a light step. She took into account the strange, yet intricate tapestries on the walls and pictures of past lords and ladies of the Fire Nation. The tile on the ground was recently polished, causing her shoes to make a click-clack noise as she walked. The clamor of it was disregarded though, because she was too preoccupied with her own thoughts.

As she strolled down the corridor, however, she past by a woman with black hair that extended to her lower back and with bangs cascading down over her forehead.

"Hello, Mai," Katara greeted her warmly, but continued walking.

"He's in there," she replied in a soft, airy voice, which was slowly becoming second nature to her. She gestured behind her into a room at the end of the hallway, which she had just departed from.

Katara nodded and slowed her pace, smiling at Mai as she walked by.

Once she entered the room she was directed to, she didn't find herself in any ordinary lounge. It was fairly empty, only with bookshelves near the doorway and a table in the center, possibly for war meetings. There was a large window that bowed outward and took up the entire back wall, encasing the most beautiful view she had ever seen from inside a building. A youthful man stood in front of the window, gazing out to the city below, hands behind his back. He had stark black hair and was wearing red robes, the Fire Nation symbol embedded on the back of them.

He must have sensed her presence because not very long after she strode through the doorway, he turned around.

"Katara," he said meekly, nodding to her in greeting.

She nodded back, bowing. "Zuko."

After a brief second, she smiled and ran up to him, caressing him in a tight embrace.

He seemed taken aback, but slowly recomposed his surroundings and hugged her lightly in return.

"Hey, Zuko," she said, pulling away, "You wanted to see me?"

The man smiled and nodded once again.

"I got your letter," he responded, laughing softly.

"What? I sent it in this morning. The guard outside said you probably wouldn't respond for weeks. He said 'oh, he's such a busy man now-"

"Katara. Besides my mother and uncle; you, Aang, Sokka and Toph are my family now. I would drop anything for you guys."

She shook her head.

"There is much more important things than what I'm asking of you," she said in a pleading voice which made Zuko chuckle.

"It doesn't matter. Now listen: I have been working on your 'project' all afternoon and I am very glad you brought it to my attention. I do believe he deserves this. But... I have a matter to attend to which requires your help as well."

Katara paused.

"My help?" she managed, finally, with a brisk laugh.

Zuko beamed at her.

"Yes. Aang as well, of course."

She looked away at the mention of the name and blushed slightly.

"What about Toph and Sokka?"

"No. _Just _you two."

Something about his voice made Katara shiver, but after an oddly short moment of consideration, she agreed.

"Alright," she replied, turning away from him and resting her elbows on the table behind her. "What's the plan?"

"Well," he started, "First let me explain the situation: There has been reports of missing caravans leading here, the Fire Nation capitol; and Gon Si, the second largest city in all of the Fire Nation. Message hawks have also been noted as intercepted, but we don't know who's doing all of it." He took the same position as hers on the table, and faced her, a worried look on his face. "I was hoping you and the great Avatar, would help the nation you've already saved... again. I have a strong feeling whoever is doing this; or whatever for that matter, is very powerful."

She sighed, but smiled.

"On one hand, I just wanted to settle down and not have to deal with things like this. But on the other, ever since I met Aang, I've thrived for adventure." She set her hands on the table as if they were the ones she was talking about. "This one," she lifted up her right hand, "is the one that's calling to me; and very loudly, may I add... so I guess it's settled. I'll talk to Aang, and we'd be glad to help you out."

Zuko laughed softly.

"I thought you'd say that," he replied haughtily, pulling her up by the shoulder and leading her out the door. "Now, let me get back to my work. I'm a busy man, you know?"

They both laughed.

"I understand, oh great Fire Lord Zuko."

They exchanged grins and bows, and Katara left, quite pleased with the outcome of the unexpected meeting.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Second Chapter obviously … Enjoy. R&R please. .:. May Contain Spoilers .:.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Chapter 2

"Ommmmm..." Aang chanted as he meditated. He was sitting with his legs crossed on the ground and his knuckles together, elbows sticking outward, as he usually did when he meditated. His eyes were lightly closed, and he continued to chant.

"Ommmmm..." he repeated, quieter this time, deep in concentration.

"AANG!"

He fell backwards and thumped his head on the floor. As he rose back up to sit, he was rubbing his temple, and he could feel his heartbeat in the back of his neck.

"Ughh..." he moaned silently in pain. Aang glanced at the doorway where he saw Sokka waving his hands as if in panic.

"Aang, Aang!"

"What, Sokka?" he said with a deep sigh and slouched over, resting his head on his hand.

"I can't find my boomerang _anywhere_!" Sokka cried out in panic.

Aang rolled his eyes.

"It's in your hand, Sokka..."

He looked down, and sure enough, there it was.

"Oh... Who would've guessed...?" He walked out of the room eyeing the boomerang. "Sneaky little thing, aren't you?"

Aang growled softly in frustration. He was sure his chi was way out of whack now... there was no way he could meditate in these conditions. He stood up silently and walked over to his bed, realizing he was exhausted.

After he rubbed his eyes, he laid down, pulling the covers over his head. It had been a long month since Fire Lord Ozai was ended, and he had been pretty alert and energetic since then.

Until now.

He stifled a yawn and drifted off into a calm, non-stressful sleep for the first time in... ages.

Except... he wasn't asleep.

He was in... the spirit world?

Aang slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand.

Oh, spirits, he _really _needed to stop hanging out with Sokka so much…

While Aang yawned once again, a voice echoed in his head. He turned around and was face to face with Avatar Kyoshi.

"Hello, Aang," she said with a smile.

And he _really_ needed to stop drifting in and out of the spirit world.

He bowed to her, nonetheless.

"Hello, Avatar Kyoshi," he responded in a tone that practically screamed melancholy.

She frowned at him.

"Oh, Aang, why are you sad? You should be celebrating! You've successfully triumphed over the Fire Lord! You've ended this war."

He only nodded.

"Aang, I understand you must be tired. I will guide you back to where you came."

"Thank you..." he replied, his eyes half lidded.

She led him to an arch in the heart of the forest. It glowed and swirled, but he didn't take a second look at it. He thanked his past life and stumbled into the portal.

There, he found rest.

--

"Aang?"

He was awakened by the musical hymn of Katara's voice. She was shaking him softly and when he opened his eyes, he found she was sitting on the edge of his bed, her hand on his shoulder.

"Aang?" she repeated, smiling that smile that made him lose track of everything.

"Where am I?" he asked, not noticing he had grabbed her hand, and surely not realizing she was blushing profusely as he did so.

"You're, uh... here, in the Fire Nation. In a house which Zuko was ever so kind to lend us."

"Oh," he replied, only half awake. "Yeah, I know."

She gazed at him.

"Then, why'd you ask?"

At that, everything seemed to hit him. Hard.

He glanced at his hand in hers and yanked away from it due to instinct. His eyes widened and he blushed even more than she had.

"Oh, uh... sorry. I... uh..." he stumbled on his words, "The boomerang, Avatar Kyoshi... oh... that was last... night." He paused and the blood rushed to his head, pounding. "Ugh. My head..."

Katara had an expression of hazy concern.

"Aang? Are you... alright?"

He felt like he was dizzy and could swoon at any time.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied quickly, almost as though he had snapped, but with a gentle voice. He could tell this by the look on Katara's face. "Sorry," he tried to amend, "I just... hit my head yesterday..."

Her eyes changed abruptly from shock to grief.

She took her water pouch from her side and held it in her hand. "How?" she asked, simply, while freezing the water and holding it up to the back of his head.

He waved her off. "I'll tell you later. Let's just say it's a long story involving Sokka."

Katara giggled softly. "Alright," she agreed, "Anything involving Sokka is bound to give me a good laugh." She paused and smiled at him. "I have a lot to tell you too. I went to see Zuko yesterday at the palace."

"Why?" he questioned sincerely.

"Well... he told me to come," she replied, blatantly leaving out the fact that she actually went for Aang. "And he gave me some good news... well, not good news per say, but its good news in my eyes. Anyway, depending on how you take it, it was news nonetheless, and I think you might enjoy this."

He nodded. "Okay."

She told him about their conversation in the meeting room.

"And, I know you've just come back from fighting the most powerful man in the entire world and all, but I figured you'd get a kick out of this. And even if you're not coming; I'm still doing it."

Aang looked at the floor.

"Katara, it's sort of my _job _to do things like this." His eyes found hers again. "And besides, there's no way I'm going to let you try and do this alone if they're as powerful as Zuko says."

"You don't think I could do it alone?" she teased.

"Of course you can, but..." He looked away again and couldn't help but blush.

Katara giggled.

"I'm still helping out, and so are you."

He sighed.

"Alright, just be careful," he warned, and Katara removed the ice, unfreezing it and putting it back into her pouch. Aang looked down momentarily, but then jumped to his feet. "That reminds me!" He pulled her up as well. "I have a present for you."

His cheery tone made her laugh.

"Oh? What is it?" she inquired.

Aang tugged at her hand.

"You'll see."

He pulled her outside and into a stable near the house. Appa was resting within, so they tip-toed quietly across the hay strewn floor.

Aang crawled up onto his saddle and began to search through bags. It wasn't long until he found what he was looking for and nonchalantly hid it behind his back.

The two returned outside and Katara was overcome by curiosity.

He raised his hand and silenced her.

"Remember when we were at the Western Air Temple?"

She nodded.

"Of course. That's when Zuko decided his true destiny, I didn't believe him, and I almost killed him... twice."

Aang laughed at her comment.

"Yes, well I found something there. The one thing I've managed to hide from all of you since then. When I stumbled across it, I didn't recognize it at first, but then it hit me." He placed it in front of himself, as if showing it to her.

It was a dress, light blue in color, with a silver sash across the mid section, tying in the back. It seemed to be fairly short, most likely ending a little past the knees. It was also short sleeved, and hemmed at the bottom, making the dress from the waist down flow and swirl loosely.

"Aang, it's beautiful!" Katara squealed in joy, pulling it from him and throwing her arms around his neck.

"Its century old, water tribe formal wear; I thought you'd like it."

She pulled away slightly, her arms still hugging his neck.

"I love it."

Katara pulled back in for another embrace and kissed his cheek. He blushed and smiled dreamily.

"You should wear it at the party tomorrow," he suggested.

She gasped.

"I completely forgot! The party! Oh, no doubt I'll wear it." This time she led _him_ by the hand.

"C'mon," she motioned, "I want you to see me put it on!"

He stopped.

"See you... p-put it... on?" he stuttered nervously.

"Oh, you know what I mean, silly. Now, come on! I want your opinion."

He let her pull him back into the house. She had told him to wait outside her bedroom and not go anywhere, and he was in no position to deny.

After a mere five minutes or so, she walked back into the living room, and Aang couldn't help but look her up and down.

"You look absolutely stunning," he said, his jaw trying to keep from flailing open. He had this weird feeling that the only reason she ever asked his opinion, was to be praised. He didn't mind that though. Not only was it the truth, but she deserved to hear it.

Tears were forming in her eyes, and she couldn't fight the smile on her face. She stepped toward him and eyed him for a moment, the tears now streaming past her cheekbones. He put his hands on her shoulders, and she hugged him even tighter than before.

"Aang..." she whispered into his ear, "Thank you... so much..."

He smiled vaguely and just savored the moment.

He wasn't quite sure how long they stood there, holding each other, but he was definitely enjoying it.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Chapter 3. I don't really like this chapter... but Lol, Aang and Katara are so clueless! .:. May Contain Spoilers .:. P.S.: Everything has a reason... keep that in mind. ;)**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Chapter 3

Sokka stumbled through the front door of their considerably large, Fire Nation home. He half-groaned, half-sighed as he entered, physically and emotionally drained.

"Hey, Katara-"

Katara and Aang jumped away from each other as if they were doing something wrong; Aang tripping over the floorboards and landing not-so-gracefully on the ground.

"Hi, Sokka," she replied.

Sokka cocked his head to the side in confusion and raised an eyebrow.

"Um... where'd you get that dress?" he asked, pointing directly at her. He was a little out of it, but he knew that definitely wasn't hers.

"Better question: Where have you been?" she retorted.

Sokka shrugged. "Training," he said, simply, then looked down at Aang who hadn't moved from his position on the floor. "And what are you doing?"

He looked at the ground, then at Katara, and back to Sokka again. "Sitting on the floor?"

Sokka just gazed at him, blankly. "Eh, I'll buy it."

After a short moment of silence, Katara walked over to Aang and helped him to his feet.

"So, as I was saying, Aang," she spoke, winking at him with her left eye, and trying to dodge the view of her older brother. "We should go see if Appa is hungry."

It took him a minute to realize what she was doing, but he caught on and tried to stick with her train of thought.

"Yeah, I haven't fed him today."

Sokka erased the suspicious look on his face and shook his head at the two. He walked into his room and closed the door behind him.

Katara went back into her room and changed into her regular clothes. The two then walked outside and picked up with conversation.

"I have a strange question," Aang stated, searching for the right words.

Katara looked at him intently to acknowledge the fact that she was listening.

"Why did we just do that?" he asked.

"Do what?"

"Why did we just try to get Sokka to drop the subject? I mean, what was the purpose?"

Katara stared at him.

"What do you mean?" she questioned.

"I mean... why did we need to get away from Sokka? We were acting like... I don't know... strange?"

She shrugged.

"I guess I'm just used to it. Being his younger sister, he always thinks I'm in mischief, but I'm not... I just always feel like I need to hide things from him because he gets so worried and worked up about everything."

"But," he started, "what is there to be worried about?"

She didn't really have an answer.

"I don't know. We are talking about Sokka here," she replied with a laugh.

The two of them walked slowly away from the home, but a little creature spotted them and found a nice place to rest on Katara's shoulder.

"Hi, Momo," she said.

Aang looked at the lemur and smiled.

"So, where are we going exactly?"

Katara shrugged.

"The marketplace?"

"Sounds good to me," he responded. "Oh- so do you know anything else about these disappearing caravans?"

She shook her head.

"Maybe we should ask around town. But then again, that may cause panic or raise suspicions," she said, thoughtfully.

"Yeah, we definitely don't want that... I would say we should start looking for clues, but with the party tomorrow, I don't believe that's the best idea..."

She tilted her head.

"Why?"

"Oh... well, we don't want to start something that big if the process is going to be interrupted," he replied.

"Mmm, good point."

She nodded in agreement and placed her hand on her neck, as if reaching for her mother's necklace.

"Aang?"

He wrinkled his brow and looked at her in the corners of his eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think she would be... mad?"

"Who?..." He noticed where she had placed her fingertips. "Oh... well, do you want my honest opinion?"

She laughed softly.

"Of course."

"Well, I think she might be a little upset." He paused, and then smiled warmly. "But, she would understand and be very proud of you."

Tears seemed to be forming in Katara's eyes again, and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. She looked at the ground momentarily and sighed.

"Oh, what would I do without you?" A small grin was on her face, and when her eyes drifted back upwards again, she spotted a magnificent fountain.

It had statues of fire nymphs and a volcano in the middle, all made out of gold, and perfect, crystal clear water was spewing from the volcano's neck.

Katara hadn't seen water that pure since the spirit oasis in the North Pole.

She glanced at Aang, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Wow!" she exclaimed, nearly breathless. "I can't believe we've lived here a little over a week and I've never seen this before..."

Katara strided over to the fountain, walking with a quick pace that woke up Momo, and instantly began bending a bit of water from it. He was still sound asleep on her shoulder, but after awakening, he hoped off and climbed on Aang's instead.

"Katara, I don't think we should be messing with that..."

She made a bridge of water over her head, and then meshed it into a ball which fell out of her hands and seemed to jump back into the fountain.

"Oh, come on Aang, we... you... saved this place. The least they can do is let us play with a little water."

"Katara..."

She frowned at him.

"Aang, look around you; No one was complaining when I touched it." She turned around and gestured to people walking down the streets. "I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Aang sighed deeply.

"It's just... my avatar spirit is calling to me, and I think it's trying to tell me not to mess with that stuff. You know from experience it's usually right."

"First of all, it's not 'stuff'... it's water. And your avatar spirit is only _usually _right. Look." She grabbed the shoulder of a passing man and stopped him in his tracks. "Hello, sir, sorry to bother you, but do you know if it's okay if I can use this water to bend with?"

The man chuckled softly.

"Sure-"

"See, Aang? It's perfectly fine."

"If you want the spirit that resides inside of it to come out and shatter your soul to a million pieces," the man finished, still laughing heartily.

"Katara! Get away from that fountain!" Aang demanded, pulling her a good thirty feet away from it.

The man beamed at them.

"Have a nice day! Oh, and yeah: staying away from the Fountain of Cho-Chai would be incredibly clever."

After watching him walk away, Aang gave her a smug look.

"Don't even say it," she warned, crossing her arms.

"See?" He put his arm around her. "Now look what would've happened if you didn't have the Avatar to warn you of these things."

She giggled.

"You know, Aang?"

He looked her in the eyes, the smug look still plastered on his face.

"Yeah?"

Katara just shook her head.

"You _really_ ought to stop hanging out with Sokka so much..."

They both laughed.

"Strange; I was thinking that exact same thing last night. Anyway, should we head to the marketplace now? It's not that far from here."

She nodded, but looked back at the fountain. It seemed to be glowing.

"Aang, look!"

He gazed at it as well and inhaled sharply.

"Oh great; another reason to get away from that thing."

"It's so... pretty..."

"Katara... Katara! Ok, you know perfectly well glowing things aren't pretty. Hello, avatar state?" he said, knowing he was completely contradicting himself. Katara glowed naturally...

She was walking toward it now, determined to touch it. "It's calling to me."

"Katara?" Aang gasped, trying to pull her away from it. "It's a soul destroying spirit! Of course it's calling to you!"

She wasn't paying attention.

"Oh, for goodness sakes! Of all days you pick today not to listen to me." He sighed. "Cho-Cho?... no that's not it. Chay-Chow?... Cho-Chai?"

He was yanking at Katara's arm, and was quite surprised to find that she seemed to be stronger than him.

"Oh mighty Cho-Chai!" he called out, using airbending to leap in front of Katara's path and throw her backwards so that she was away from the fountain once again. "Please understand. She wasn't trying to upset you. She didn't know..."

He looked up at the sky which was turning a dark purple. He noticed no one was outside anymore and the water in the fountain was blood red, as were the statues.

"Okay. This is just not my week," he said, rolling his eyes at no one in particular.

Katara was sitting on the ground with a terrified look on her face.

"Aang, I don't like this," she said, trembling.

"It-it's okay. It's just a spirit. I've dealt with spirits before..."

There was an eerie cracking noise and one of the fire nymphs disembodied herself from her perch on the fountain.

She jumped down, and almost danced as she walked toward them. The nymph was only a few feet tall and had long curly hair that swayed calmly even in the absence of wind.

"What do we have here?" she said in a beautiful, mystifying voice. She shook her head. "I know your past lives, boy. But you, unlike them, are not very wise are you?" She laughed and eyed him ambitiously.

"Are you?..." he trailed off, unable to finish.

The nymph circled him as if examining him.

"No, I am not Cho-Chai. If I was that angry, you'd surely be dead by now." Her large eyes found Katara. "Who are you, child?"

Katara was at a loss for words.

"She is not of your concern," Aang pitched in for her, not completely sure what he was doing.

"Ah. I see. So, that must mean you are the one who disrupted the fountain of my master? Why do I not believe that?..."

Aang did not respond, and in a flash of light, the nymph suddenly matched him in height.

"I do not care who did it. I must tell my master of some treachery; that I assure you. But if you do not want your lover's soul to perish before your very eyes, I suggest you take her place."

Her words caressed Aang's ear as she said them, loud enough for him to hear every word, but quiet enough for Katara to hear none.

"Don't hurt her," he pleaded, exhaling slowly.

"_I _don't hurt a soul," she responded, laughing almost maniacally. "Cho-Chai takes care of that."

"Tell your 'master' I am sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Silence!" she commanded. "You have a very pure heart, Avatar. On another note, I cannot allow the death of balance, so I shall spare you... but on one condition!"

He nodded.

"Keep your girlfriend _away_ from this fountain- at least until I find a replacement for her."

"Thank you." He bowed to the nymph.

She only smirked at him. "Save your energy. You'll need it."

With that, she disappeared, and the sky, water and fountain returned to normal.

A lot had happened today.

And it was only noon.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Ok, if you don't know that this may contain spoilers by now, by all means, go jump in the Fountain of Cho-Chai. Also... there's a lot of stuff going on in the fic right now, just try to keep it all together, it'll piece itself together eventually. : R&R please! Thank you. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Chapter 4

Zuko drummed his fingers on the arm of the throne as he propped his legs up. He was terribly weary, but his mind was running through everything, and he knew he had no time to rest.

Ever since the death of his father, it had been politics and business with the whole world, but he was hanging in there. He enjoyed the rush of attention at first, and most definitely the news that he was the Fire Lord, but it got old eventually.

He had to sign paper after paper, induct new laws, and reestablish entire towns. He knew he didn't exactly have a deadline, but he was trying to make everything convenient to the people who had lost their homes or families...

He should just sleep. Right now. In his throne.

But he couldn't.

"Good afternoon, milord."

He glanced down at the entrance to the throne room, and tugged at his hair in aggravation.

"Good afternoon, Seung."

A young man with dark brown hair and a nervous look on his face came into view as he walked nearer to Zuko. He bowed as he approached.

"Milord," he said, looking at a clipboard in his hands, "I have scrounged all the food for the party tomorrow and the ballroom is set... There is a man in the front lounge who insisted on seeing you; he said it was urgent, but I told him you may be awhile. He told me he didn't care how long you took, and he wasn't leaving until he had conference with you. He also said to tell you he was from the Southern Water Tribe... The statue and mansion you are preparing will be done within weeks, just as you wished, and the rebuilding of the-"

"Wait, wait, wait..." Zuko interrupted, "from the Southern Water Tribe?"

"Yes, that's what he-"

"What is his name?"

"Well, I didn't ask, but-"

"Bring him here."

"But, milord..."

"Immediately."

Seung nodded and swiftly walked out of the room.

It didn't seem to take him long to fetch the man, probably from his long years of serving under the malicious Fire Lord Ozai. Seung was still fearful, even with Zuko in charge.

The Southern Water Tribe man of whom Seung had mentioned, was just who Zuko expected. He had slightly long black hair and definite lines accentuating his cheekbones.

"Hello, Chief Hakota," Zuko said as he converged with the man's line of sight.

Hakota lowered himself so that he was on his knees.

"No need to bow to me," Zuko claimed politely.

He got up from his throne and stepped down to face the man. He kneeled as well, but on one knee instead, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You've done much more in this war than I ever have," he said, smiling softly. "You are a great leader as well."

Hakota laughed.

"A great leader, huh?" he repeated. "I adore your flattery, but I've come to find the location of my son and daughter."

Zuko lifted himself and his companion to a standing position. He nodded.

"Actually, I just spoke to Katara yesterday," he said, thoughtfully, and tapped his finger softly on his chin. "They're in the city. But only until tomorrow night. I'll let Seung take you to them." He focused his attention on his assistant. Seung was casually writing on the clipboard, but looked up at the mention of his name.

"Yes, milord."

Hakota attempted to bow, but caught himself in the act.

"Sorry..." he said, scratching the back of his neck.

Zuko laughed.

"It's okay. Just don't make it a habit."

--

"Well. That was weird," Katara admitted, standing up. "She seemed to give up pretty quickly... She didn't even give it a second thought. I mean, don't get me wrong; I'm completely relieved that she didn't feed your soul to a crazy spirit, but it was just..."

Aang shrugged.

"Maybe she knows something," he said, staring at the fountain and noting that the nymph who had spoken to him was missing from it.

"Like what?"

He shook his head.

"I don't know. But whatever it is, it must've been pretty important to just get that conversation over with. It doesn't seem to me like Cho-Chai is one to mess around, so I don't think she would just leave without good reasoning." He looked at her with a subtly confused look. "Did you see the sky? And the water?... That was some intense stuff."

Katara nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I saw that. This whole situation gives me the creeps," she replied.

Aang nodded as well.

"Mmhmm. By the way, she mentioned something about staying away from it until she _finds a replacement. _What do you think that meant?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm perfectly fine staying away from this entire part of the city even long after that."

She crossed her arms.

"Yeah, well... I don't know, there's just something about that fountain... I wonder how long it's even been there..."

Aang sighed.

"Are we going to the marketplace, or are we going back to the house? I'm not sure if I'm really in the mood for any more adventure for today," Katara said, yawning.

"I dunno. Let's ask Momo."

The lemur pointed back in the direction they had came, his ears pointed sharply downwards, giving him the look of a miniature hunting polar leopard.

Katara and Aang both laughed.

"I guess that's settled," she said, beaming. "Sleep it is."

--

The door flung open.

"Whoa," Sokka said, only slightly jumping as it happened. He saw her and almost instantly started laughing. "What's up with you?" he managed between breaths.

"I'm soaked. And you know why?"

Sokka just continued to laugh, more to himself than her.

"No, I suppose I can't say I do," he said sarcastically.

Toph walked up to him and thumped him on the back of the head.

"Oww, what was that for!?"

"That's more of a rhetorical question than you even know. Anyway, as I was saying, do you want to know _why_ I am so wet?"

Sokka looked down.

"Well, if it'll keep you from violently swatting my brains out, then sure, I'd love to."

"Glad to hear it. So, I was taking a walk, like I usually do when I have nothing better to do, and I overhear this one guy saying he didn't like the new Fire Lord. I walked up to him, pretty calmly at first, -yeah I know, shocker!-, but he and his two pals started bad talking Zuko and Aang... and it was so... obnoxious! I will not have people talking about my friends like that!" She stomped at the ground and made a huge indent in the floor, naturally making Sokka flinch. "So, when I tried to earthbend at them, I regrettably found that one of them was an earthbender too! The one who got me ticked off in the first place though, was a firebender, and then finally after a short while, all four of us were fighting; the third guy a waterbender."

Sokka rolled his eyes.

"That's... interesting," he said, having very little interest in the subject at all. "A street fight, huh? Well, did you win?"

Toph glared at him, but tilted her head in shame.

"No. They were too strong. I think at one point they realized I could only see through vibrations, because they tried their best to keep off the ground, or stay on objects that weren't exactly earth. They also had some crazy moves I never would have expected. The waterbender was shouting something about his water glowing red or something, too... it was insane."

"Wow," Sokka said, stunned. She'd never lost a street fight... or any fight. "Sounds like a pretty even match."

Toph sighed.

"I could've beaten them. I just wasn't prepared for a scuff with three different benders."

Sokka shrugged.

"Well, you've had better days. But I'm not gonna mess with you after a beating like that," he said sincerely, and she nodded.

He took a sip from his cup, but found it all over his lap after Toph slapped the bottom of it.

Sokka jumped out of his seat in surprise and tried to shake his pants to wring them out.

"Why'd you do that!?"

"Well... you've had better days. But I'm not going to argue with you after that."

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Why, you little..."

He swatted at her, but she had already started walking toward her room.

"If you need me, I'll be in my room," she stated, closing the door behind her, but slowly opened it again. "Try _not_ to need me."

She slammed the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: A quick shout-out to Sokka's Instincts 2: Yeah, I know what you mean about Katara being a little Ty-Leeish when Aang gave her the dress. I figure, she had to do a lot of things on her own ever since she was little; cleaning, cooking, sewing, ect., so she didn't really have many things to call her own. To me, I don't see Katara used to getting presents from people, so hopefully that explains a little bit why I did that.**

**Yeah, I know it's kinda jumpy, but just try to keep up. It's like that for a reason. :**

**.:. May Contain Spoilers .:.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Chapter 5

_Earlier that day..._

The Fire Nation capitol was extraordinarily crowded today, even more so than usual. Maybe it was because of the many earthbenders and few waterbenders that had moved there over the past few weeks. It was true, the Avatar disappeared, reappeared, mastered all four elements within a few months, and destroyed the two most powerful people on the entire planet; It was one for the record books, but some people didn't seem all that astounded.

One of those people was named Jae; a firebender, and once a guard of the long gone, Princess Azula. He watched over her since her 8th birthday, after being initiated into the elite squadron of Fire Lord Ozai, then slowly gained his trust over time. He saw her mature, quickly turning into the well contained demon that she was. Even underneath her absentminded control, she was distorted and inhumane. To sum it up it one word: Crazy.

She even went as far as throwing her father out of rule. He humbly complied, or at least without a choice, and she mistakenly took the throne as Fire Lord. Before that, she only ever wanted the position. She found herself day and night fighting internal conflicts and trying to figure out what to do. This all became her downfall, and her greatest weakness, even in the highest ranking place of all.

She was the cause of falling cities, dying children, homes on fire, and even the failure of her own dignity. She was power hungry, to say the least. She would never stop until she got what she wanted, but at this point, she wasn't even sure what that was. So she pushed and pushed, exceeding limits no one thought possible.

That was the day she got news that the Avatar was in the city. She told all of her guards to hold off from attacking until she, the Fire Lord, said otherwise. A few of them actually pleaded with her, not including Jae of course, he knew better, and she silenced them - permanently.

They were quite aware something was wrong. There was no defensive force or offence of any kind, but they continued up to the palace anyway. When they entered, they demanded to see the Fire Lord, but Azula just fell into a fit of maniacal laughter, which suited her well.

It was the little waterbender who did it. Caught her off guard and made sure she wouldn't be a distraction any longer. She was crying, even after the good she had done; crying like she had just killed her own mother. Azula was innocent, Jae recalled himself thinking, a flower in stilled bloom. It wasn't her fault she was the way she was. It was the entirety of the two direct generations before her. He was amazed her brother wasn't the exact same way, but found himself cursing the matter. He had grown found of the young, devious and conniving princess, and promised to someday wreak revenge.

Even now, to his newly gained accomplices, he was ranting about him.

"I just can't stand that good-for-nothing Fire Lord of ours," he said, tightening a fist.

The taller one rolled his eyes.

"We get it, Jae. Look, none of us can stand that stupid Zuko kid, and the Avatar is pretty lame himself. We've all said it a hundred times."

Jae shrugged.

"It just feels better to say how much I _loathe_ him."

"Oh, don't get your panties in a bunch," the third one said, cracking his neck.

Jae glared at him with a threatening look.

"Hey, you!"

He turned around and to his suprise, found a young girl in green attire pointing up at him.

"Aww, hello, little girl," the man on Jae's right had said.

Jae gaped in astonishment.

"You... you're from the... you're friends with the Avatar," he managed finally.

She nodded and crossed her arms.

"Yeah? What's it to ya?" she asked, strongly. "Maybe you wanna tell me while you're bad-mouthing my friends?"

The man on his left grunted.

"Hah! You afraid, Jae?" he said.

He shook his head.

"No, I mean... you're friends with the Avatar. You were there when she died," he said in a cold voice. "You allowed her to _die_!"

Jae clenched both his fists and tightened his shoulders. He was breathing heavily, and with each deep breath, he exhaled steam. After a few more, a gust of fire shot from his nostrils.

His entire body was shaking and he motioned for the others to attack.

Toph caught on and sent a wave of earth at them, but it was stopped. Not just naturally, but by... earthbending?

She smirked.

"So, a firebender and an earthbender, huh? This should be fun."

The third man spit on the ground and took a bending position. He had a leather pouch at his side and withdrew the water from it. He lashed it at Toph in an effort to grab her leg, but failed to do so.

"Whoa! I didn't know you could do that, Minsu!" the earthbender exclaimed, still attempting to hit Toph with a blow.

"I... I didn't do that. I..." he was struggling to get the words out, and after pulling the water back, he made a large wave in the air, which only managed to get Toph wet.

"Stop talking about your funny colored water, attack the girl!" Jae commanded through gritted teeth.

"Oh, relax. All you do all day is talk about how you hate Zuko. Something interesting actually happens and you tell us to shut up? Who made you boss anyway?"

Jae threw a dirty look at him, but returned to fighting. He engulfed Toph in flames momentarily, causing a large tornado like column of fire to surround her, but it subsided with his anger.

"Water that glows red is far from interesting. I already know water is a demented thing, I don't need a reminder..."

The earthbender shrugged casually and launched a torpedo of earth through the air. By the way he did the move, Toph was caught off guard, and it made her to believe he was doing something else. Luckily, it buzzed right by her head.

The three men were spending less and less time on the ground and more jumping and doing bending while mid air. She was deeply frightened for the first time in a long time, and was almost hit at several different moments, but luck seemed to save her.

She decided she had to give up, because if she didn't they would surely get her eventually. She disappeared underground, soaked, but at least she was alive.

The earthbender laughed.

"Well, that was interesting."

Minsu nodded.

"Maybe the Avatar is in the city," he added.

"Well, that just makes everything worth while. C'mon boys, we have another mission."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:**

**_Bob the Chicken Nugget_ - There shall be Kataang. Sorry for the aangst of the wait for you :) Heh, had to write that. But, yeah, no direct Kataangy goodness yet, I'm trying to keep you at bay. Bwahaha. Thanks for reviewing! Please tell me any of your suggestions.**

**_Sokka's Instincts 2_ - Thanks for all the reviews! I really appreciate it. If someone is OOC in your opinion (Sokka so doesn't count in this chapter, he's maturing... kind of... finally...) please feel free to tell me. Thanks so much.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Chapter 6

Sokka mumbled to himself under his breath as he took his pants off. He wasn't too worried about Toph walking in on him because she couldn't see anyway. He was still pretty mad at her though; those were his only pants! He supposed he could buy new ones, and as the thought occured to him, he figured it was probably a good idea.

He found a bucket a few minutes earlier in the stables and filled it up with water. He would try to rid the pants of the stain as much as possible. As he dipped them into the bucket, however, the front door opened. He had a good idea Toph would come back into the main room; but this was the last thing he expected, since when Aang and Katara went out together, they were usually gone all day.

He was extremely worried the first few times they did it, only hours at a time, but he realized his yelling only made it worse. They began spending more and more time together, and trying to keep away from Sokka. It had elevated to entire days now, them only coming to the house to sleep or eat dinner. On some occasions, they weren't even home until long past nightfall, which only angered Sokka deeper.

He tried to follow them once, but managed to lose their trail pretty quickly. He knew for a fact nothing was going on, because for one, Katara was way too oblivious, and two, Aang was way too shy. He'd also known for awhile now about the Avatar's feelings for his sister. Sometimes the thought actually made him laugh, but most the time it just made him shiver. Katara was too innocent to feel anything for anyone and all he would accept was small, insignificant crushes from time to time. Sadly though, if she did return feelings for the little airbender, then it definitely wasn't just a crush. She had become way too close to him.

But, Sokka had slightly lost interest in the matter. He had other things to deal with, and if anyone was to be within 10 feet of his little sister, he'd rather it be no one other than the Avatar himself.

"You're home early," Sokka said almost sarcastically, but continued to soak his pants with a straight face.

Katara glowered at him.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked tentatively.

He shook his head and continued to watch his hands as he doused the clothing into the now, light brown water, and rung it out again.

"Nothing," he replied defensively, "Just go back to your 'whatever' you were doing."

Aang wasn't in the mood to watch them argue, so he smiled softly at Sokka and tried to change the subject.

"Uh, what happened to your pants?"

Sokka looked up at him and gave him a cold look.

"Toph happened."

Aang could've sworn he heard a small snicker escape from her room, but decided it was only his imagination when the siblings didn't mention it.

"Oh, well, I'm sure she didn't mean..." he trailed off as he stared into Sokka's piercing blue eyes.

Momo leaped off of Aang's shoulder, making him wince and tear his eyes away from Sokka's. They were pretty intimidating.

--

The rest of the day was fairly relaxed. Sokka, Katara and Aang had ceased all the tension between them, and sat, having a long chat. Aang told Sokka about what happened with the fountain, and Sokka tried to leak more information. He was trying to get his facts straight, because he really wanted to trust the two of them.

He had little luck though, because apparently it was all like a game to them. The more they told him, the more they lost. So after a few questions, he left the subject alone all together. He wouldn't worry and he definitely wouldn't stress about it.

He realized this was a good method, because Katara told him about her conference with Zuko. Sokka figured he owed them something in return, mostly from his guilt of trying to get them to talk about things they obviously didn't want to. He tried to recount the story Toph had told him, but didn't remember everything.

Toph had been in her room for most of the day, but came out a mere two hours before sunset.

"Someone's at the door," she said simply.

They all turned their heads and faced it.

There was a knock.

Aang was the first to get up, using airbending to rise to his feet. The other two stayed seated, anyway, so he wasn't in a rush.

He walked calmly over to the door and and pushed it open.

"Oh, hello, Aang."

Sokka and Katara recognized the voice, bolted out of their seats at an incredible speed, both almost knocking Aang over, and rushed to their father's arms.

Toph laughed.

"Sorry, had to see that for myself. Just couldn't resist."

She took a seat in the middle of the room where the three of them had been shortly before. Aang decided to do the same.

"Hey, Sokka. Hey, Katara," Hakota said with a brilliant smile and patted his son on the back.

They pulled away from the embrace and beckoned their father to come in.

They all sat down, Toph next to Sokka and across from Aang, Aang next to Katara and Katara next to her dad.

"Wow, this is a nice place you have here," Hakota stated warmly.

"Well, it's not really ours. Zuko is lending it to us until we leave," Sokka said, smiling.

Hakota nodded.

"He said you were leaving tomorrow night."

"Technically, the morning after the party - which is tomorrow night."

"Oh," he replied, "will you be coming home?"

Sokka shrugged.

"I'm not sure. Aang still has Avatar duties, and we've stuck with him this far... I don't think I'll be able to abandon that."

Aang sighed.

"Sokka, I've told you a dozen times, I can take care of my self. I know what I'm supposed to do. You guys should go home."

Katara squeezed his shoulder.

"Aang... no matter how many times you tell us, I'm laying this out to you right now - at least speaking for myself - that wherever you go, I'll be there. No exceptions."

Wow. She was serious. He'd always secretly prepared himself for all of them leaving and going back to their normal lives after the war was over. What was it about him that made them want to stay so badly?

"Why?"

He felt like he couldn't help but ask.

They all fell silent.

It was Toph who spoke.

"You're our best friend, Aang. We're like a family. If I went home, I'd be couped up in my room for the rest of my life. Do you not remember my parents?"

He looked away.

Now it was Sokka's turn.

"Yeah, it was so important to me to stay home and protect my family. But you've practically done that for me. You've saved the entire world. They're rebuilding the city right now, and there's a lot more people living down there. They don't need protection, and I can visit them whenever I want. I'm not ready to live a life like that again, not like there was anything wrong with it, but now that I've explored the world, I've realized how much I love it. That feeling of being free, even when it's on the back of a giant flying bison."

Everyone laughed, except Aang.

"Aang - Katara and Sokka love you. I'm incredibly jealous of you for that, I'll admit, but I'm so glad you came into their lives. Without you, I'd still be at sea, fighting a useless battle, and hoping I don't die at the hand of some ruthless firebender."

Aang glanced up at Katara, which was a huge mistake. She looked like she was about to cry, and her eyes made him burn inside. They looked so painstricken. So confused and hurt...

He reached his hand up and wiped her tears away. He wasn't sure what gave him the courage to do it, and didn't know why he did it, but he did. Something about her eyes made him ache, and it was as if her tears were his lifeline; them falling, killing him.

She inhaled sharply, paused, then threw her arms around him.

"Aang... d-don't make me... le-leave," she said suddenly, now crying freely.

Hakota reached his hand out to pat her on the back, but caught a glimpse of Sokka shaking his head and decided against it.

"I don't kn-know what I'd d-do... I ca-can't, w-won't..."

"It'll be alright," he whispered into her ear, making her shiver, "I won't leave you. I won't make you leave."

She let out a sketchy breath which was followed by a deep sob into his shoulder.

"A-Aang..."

Sokka had ushered everyone else into his room, giving the two some privacy. He wasn't a big fan of it, but he knew it was the right thing to do.

"Shh..."

Aang closed his eyes and held her tightly, softly rocking her back and forth.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Lol, did I not tell you guys to keep an open mind? ;) Btw, after I wrote this, I re-read it, and I was totally like 'Holy... Katara is so PMSing or something!'**

**TheKataango – Yes, Sokka's pants **_**are**_** still off. He doesn't have any to wear; they're wet. Not like it matters, because it's his relatives, a blind girl, and his best friend. Hah.**

**Sorry guys if I didn't make the hes/shes right... I re-read it, and they seemed to all be in the correct spot... unless I missed something /**

**Kk. R&R, thanks for all the reviews guys - seriously! It's really helping.**

**THIS CHAPTER DEFINITELY CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM THE ACTUAL SHOW Book 3, Chapter 15.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Chapter 7

It was too quiet. He listened to the sounds of people bickering all day, and now that it was peaceful, he felt completely restless. He had been in bed since the sun set, and hadn't been able to get comfortable since then. He tried sleeping on his side, but it just felt like his limbs were going numb. He tried sleeping on his back, but it felt like there was an oddly large lump under him. He wasn't even going to attempt flipping over, because he'd just wake Mai up. That was the last thing he wanted to do.

Ever since Zuko had broken her out of Azula's prison, she had slowly become less dreary. When Mai and Ty Lee turned against Azula, she demanded that they be thrown somewhere she'd never have to see them again. Unfortunately for the princess, Azula didn't get her wish, and the two were ushered out of the imprisonment within days of being sent there.

Mai refused to talk to Zuko for an entire week after the break in, but figured she had to forgive him. He told her that he didn't really 'dump' her, he just left so that she wouldn't have to be drug into anything that could put her life in danger. She retorted with the fact that she liked danger, because it made everything less boring. She also stated that she was flattered he cared so much, and showed the first real bit of emotion she had shown for the past four years.

This, of course, made Zuko's heart leap. It was as if she'd laid down her hidden self on the table for him. Although, Mai was a bit reluctant at first, because he wouldn't drop the subject, but she began to embrace it, and started acting like an actual human being. The 'real' Mai was a pretty cheery person, which scared the hell out of the Avatar and his friends. One day she was sulking and making rude comments, and the next she was laughing and to even Zuko's surprise; singing.

Zuko had become extremely fond of Mai's singing, mostly because it was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever heard. She did it quietly the first dozen times, and Zuko guessed it was because she was shy of her change. She'd been so downcast for so long, it felt like she was releasing all of her bottled up feelings as she did it.

But, even the new Mai couldn't match Ty Lee's cheer; which was probably for the better. Ty Lee was an unrealistic cheery of sorts. Nobody knew how she did that... all the time... no matter what happened, but she stuck with it. She acted like such a child sometimes. This might have been why she got along so well with Aang and Sokka.

It was fairly funny to see Ty Lee around Sokka. She was constantly flirting with him, and he only wanted her to go away. She didn't take denial all that seriously, but she finally let it go when Suki punched her.

Zuko wanted to laugh when thinking about the whole thing. All the flirting and unnecessary drama that went on before Ozai's defeat was unbearable. He and Aang would have to wander a half a mile away just to practice firebending without interruption. It was pretty depressing, and when Aang managed to get a hold on the element, they still practiced; mostly to stay away from the others.

Aang had to focus on what was at hand, and Zuko was just annoyed. They ended up making a pretty good team, too, after spending so much time together. Zuko learned a lot about Aang that he never would have even guessed if he didn't switch sides. He knew his strengths, weaknesses, loves, hates, past, present... and in an earlier time, he would have used that information against the young Avatar. But now, he was here as a friend. It surely made his listening skills top-notch as well, which later were handed over for Mai's sake.

"Are you still awake?" he heard Mai whisper.

He looked at her. She was laying on her side and smiling brilliantly.

She had changed so much... but so had he. It was as if they did it together, evolved slowly, but so rapidly – together.

"Yeah. Sorry."

She turned on her other side, facing away from him, and pulled his arm around her waist. He flowed into her movements and laid his body up against her back.

She laughed softly.

"It's okay. If you can't sleep, I'll stay awake with you."

He pulled her closer and their bodies seemed to match perfectly, plugging the space like puzzle pieces.

"No, I think I'll sleep just fine, now."

Mai grabbed the hand that was holding her and interlaced her fingers with his. She smiled again and closed her eyes.

"Me too."

--

Aang wasn't used to her acting like this. She was usually so profound and strong-willed. It was a vitiation of his to see her cry. It corrupted him, and he wanted to destroy whatever it was that was inflicting this grief onto her. But, in this case... it was him. He didn't know what to do. He told her everything she wanted to hear, but it didn't seem to be enough. He told her that no one was leaving. He wouldn't make her go back to the South Pole if she didn't want to. She could stay with him. He could make the others stay too; they didn't want to leave anyway.

He had nothing left to say.

Well, _that _wasn't exactly true. But right now wasn't the time to tell her how he felt about her or anything like that. No. She was crying for some unapparent reason.

"Katara, please stop crying."

Another deep sob.

"Katara..."

She pulled slightly away from him so that she could look him in the eyes. It shocked him. He was enjoying holding her, but he wished it wasn't only because she was crying.

"Aang... I'm s-sorry..."

This wasn't what he expected.

"For what?" he asked in a kind and strong voice.

She pulled away even more and sat upright. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I'm just so happy you're safe... I... I lost you once, and I was so worried you were going to..." She looked down. "But, you're not. And I had faith in you and I don't want to go home..." She looked back up at him intensely. "But... I do... I'm just so conflicted... and..."

Katara sighed deeply, wiping the tears away once again.

"Katara... I only want for you what makes you happy. If you want to go home, by all means. But if you don't, I'd love to travel with you. Toph and Sokka already said they were going to..."

She put her arms around her knees.

"Will you please stop telling me that I should go home?"

He looked away.

"I can't make any promises."

"Why, Aang? Why can't you just promise me this one thing? Am I a burden to you or something? Do you _want_ me to go home?"

"I... I just want what's best for you. I don't think you can live a healthy life traveling. You'd be so much happier if-"

"Why do you care if I'm happy?... Do you ever think about yourself? Can't you just stop being so selfless for once?"

Aang shook his head.

"No. I care about you too much to think of myself before you."

Katara opened her mouth to say something, but closed it.

She took a deep breath.

"Aang, I'm sorry... It's just... I'm..."

She threw her arms around him once again.

"I'm not going home. Please, just do this one thing for me... stop telling me to. Please."

He laughed softly.

"Okay..."

"Promise me."

There was a pause.

"I _promise_."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: More Katara in all her PMSing glory... terribly sorry about that, but it had to happen. :)**

**OH, and if anyone knows how to **_**check**_** messages on , please tell me.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Chapter 8

"Okay, guys. I'm tired, and everyone needs to go to sleep," Sokka's voice echoed.

He had walked out of his room, Toph and Hakota following right behind him.

Aang looked down at the drowsy Katara in his arms.

"Chief Hakota, you can have my room – Everyone should get a good night sleep tonight."

Katara looked up at him. Her eyes spoke for her.

"Don't worry. I'll sleep out here. I'm partial to sleeping on the floor anyway," he replied.

She nodded, but weakly. Aang could practically feel Sokka roll his eyes, but he helped her to her feet anyway. The crying must have taken a lot out of her.

When everyone but Aang and Hakota remained, the Chief spoke.

"Aang, I can't take your room. You need to be fresh for tomorrow."

Aang smiled briefly.

"You're our guest. And besides, you just got here. Don't worry about me, really – I'm alright with it."

As Aang gathered a few pillows to use for the night, Hakota walked towards the bedroom.

"Aang..."

He looked up from the ground and into the middle aged man's eyes.

"Mm?"

"Thank you."

Aang smiled again, but this time a little longer.

"Of course, like I said, you're our guest."

Hakota shook his head.

"No. For taking such good care of my daughter."

And with that he disappeared into the room.

Aang nestled his head delicately into the pillows and drifted off into sleep.

--

He was meditating like he did every morning. It was just barely daybreak and he was in the lotus position, his eyes closed; but he wasn't chanting. There was complete silence...

"You know," Katara mused, "You look different."

Aang was slightly taken aback by her presence. He hadn't even heard her walk in.

"How long have you been there?" he inquired.

She shrugged.

"10... 15 minutes."

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why?"

Katara took a sip from the cup of tea in her hand. She was as calm and serious as usual.

"You look peaceful when you meditate. I wouldn't have said anything, but I noticed... you look different."

Aang leaned backwards and rested on his hands, settling his body weight into his shoulders.

"Different how?"

"I'm not sure... like you have a different aura about you." She paused and cocked her head slightly to the side. "You should grow your hair back. I liked it."

Aang laughed. She leaned in a bit and narrowed her eyes as if studying him. Aang mimicked her and the two ended up inches apart.

It was her turn to raise an eyebrow.

"What are you looking for?" Katara asked, smiling.

"Same thing you are," he retorted.

She giggled.

"Now, what would that be?"

"I need to know... if I could get some of that tea."

He bolted back to an upright position and pointed at the cup in her hand.

She stuck her tongue out playfully at him.

"You can't have any."

Aang frowned and batted his eyelashes innocently.

"Please?"

Katara flicked her finger and a few droplets of the tea hit Aang on the forehead.

"There."

He wiped it off and lunged at her, but she put the cup behind her.

"Don't make me bloodbend you!" she threatened, laughing at him as she pushed him off of her.

"You wouldn't dare."

She crossed her arms and bit her bottom lip.

"Wouldn't I?"

"No," he replied simply.

She smirked.

"You're right. I don't need bloodbending to do this!"

She advanced swiftly on him and knocked him backward. He fell on the floor and she was sitting on top of him, pinning his arms to the ground.

Katara was breathing heavily, and when she realized what she did actually happened, she blushed wildly.

"You know," she pointed out, "you could just airbend yourself out of this."

He returned her previous smirk.

"Yeah, well, I figure it'd be rude not to let you win. You _are_ the girl."

"Oh, come on mister Avatar; show me what you've got! I'm not just _any_ girl."

Aang laughed.

"You've got that right."

He airbended her, flipped her over, and constrained her to the ground.

"Now what?" he questioned smugly.

Her cheeks flushed.

"Guess that's up to you. I can't do anything."

Aang stared deep into her eyes. She tried to pull away from them, but she found she couldn't. He literally had her pinned, and even though he wasn't really doing much, it felt like he had complete control.

She couldn't move, and he began to lean in closer to her.

He was so close... less than an inch away. She could feel him quiver. She could feel his heartbeat and it was as if his spirit was intertwining with hers.

Her breaths began to shake as she closed her eyes, but she felt the slight pressure on her wrists release. He had flipped over on his back, and was lying next to her.

Katara's heartbeat was racing out of control, and she still wasn't sovereign over her own limbs.

"Sorry," he said apologetically.

She felt a chill go up her spine as he spoke, but she couldn't find any words.

"I'll just... I should go."

He stood up and began to walk towards the front door.

"So... that's how it is?" she asked.

He looked at her.

"What?"

She simply shook her head.

"Bumi was right... Typical airbender tactic," she stated, sitting upright. "Avoid and evade."

Aang gaped at her, but looked down soon after.

She continued. Now she was in control.

"I thought you were an earthbender, too? Face things head on?... Isn't that how you learned it? Is that not what Toph taught you?"

Aang was completely stunned, but she was persistent. She got up and walked towards him.

"You were expecting to leave and think out everything, and then come back and act like nothing happened. _Again._ Just like on the Day of Black Sun.

"You kissed me, and you left, and then somehow you left it at that. It was like the whole thing was mysteriously erased.

"Aang, you are _not_ doing this to me _again._

"You don't even-"

But, she didn't have time to finish. Apparently her little rant was working, because he had his hands on her waist and his lips pressed against hers.

This time was different. He wasn't going to leave, and she wasn't going to let him. She had time to think it through, they weren't going to be rushed, or stopped, or interfered with.

Her heart was already at a remarkable pace from being so angry, but somehow it beat even faster.

She pulled away just enough to speak.

"No matter who walks in here; just ignore them."

He smiled against her lips and picked up where he left off.

Katara didn't know if she should be furious at him for taking so long, confused at _why_ he took so long, or happy that it didn't take him longer.

All of those conflictions just flew right out of her mind, however, as he asked entrance into her mouth. She swiftly complied, most likely from her hunger taking charge.

Katara wasn't expecting him to be such a good kisser either, but she was definitely not complaining. She _was_ kissing the Avatar, but then again, she was kissing Aang. Something she'd wanted to do ever since her first taste of him, just over a month ago.

Right now, they were the only people in the world and that was all that mattered, so she told herself that she really needed to stop thinking so hard.

She just slipped into the moment and lost track of time, where she was, what she was doing.

It wasn't until Aang finally pulled away from her that she opened her eyes and realized she was up against the wall, his hands in her hair, and sweating uncontrollably.

It also wasn't until then that she noticed Sokka and her dad staring at them, confused, angered and maybe even frightened.

Toph was just enjoying the show.

But Katara... no she didn't care.

She told Aang to ignore them for a reason, and right now, she didn't have a care in the world.

Katara looked at them, then back at Aang, and laughed softly.

She leaned back in for another kiss, and Aang returned it despite the people behind him.

He figured it was probably disrespectful, but just like Katara – he _didn't care._

So, they stood there, bodies against each other, spirits completing each other, and passion unlike any other.

They were both looking forward to more moments like this.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: The "loss" of Sokka's two favorite things mentioned when he talks to Toph (you'll see) is just a hunch I have from the actual show. It may or may not be a spoiler for the finale, but I'm not going to explain it in depth because if it is, I don't want to ruin it for you.**

**Anywho, yay... more Kataangy goodness. I had to patch everything up. Hopefully after this chapter I can get back to the actual plot o.O Sorry about that.. **

**Ehh... shorter chapter... BUT... in case you were wondering, no it's not Tokka ... Tokka in this is only one-sided, sorry my Tokkian friends. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Chapter 9

Katara's head thumped back against the wall when she felt the distance between her and Aang. It wasn't just slight distance this time, it was a complete disconnection, and quite abrupt as well.

Her eyes remained closed as she let her heart die down in her chest.

The world had managed to penetrate her ears again.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Sokka's voice erupted, obviously at Aang.

"Sokka... leave the boy alone," her dad said in reply. He was eerily calm.

Katara decided to open her eyes, and saw Sokka glaring at their father, wide-eyed.

"Are you... going to just _allow_ this?"

"I feel I have no position to interfere. I've been out of your lives far too much, and until I come back into them..."

He looked down as he trailed off.

Sokka's mouth was hanging open, the front of Aang's robes in his hand.

"_WHAT?!_" He blurted, desperately trying to contain himself.

Over the past few weeks he had attempted to rid his fears for the Avatar and his sister, but right now they all flooded right back in.

Hakota stepped away in an effort to return to Aang's room.

"I'm going to leave you three alone. Toph, I recommend you do the same - they have some things to sort out."

Sokka was shaking at his father's reaction. He was sure that if anyone was to take his side on this, it'd be him.

Toph did what was asked of her, and Hakota and her returned to their rooms.

Aang took a deep breath.

"Sokka, I-"

"If you're going to ask me to put you down, don't even think about it!" Sokka exploded, his eyes searing into the young airbender's.

Aang looked desperately at Katara, who was now standing there as if lifeless, but gave him an 'I'm sorry' look.

Sokka growled softly under his breath.

"Go to your room," he demanded.

"But your dad's in-"

"_Go to MY room,"_Sokka cut in coldly.

Aang did as he was told, leaving only Katara and Sokka in the main room.

"Katara... what were you thinking?"

She smiled.

"He loves me, and... I love him."

"He's _thirteen_..."

She only nodded.

"I'm fifteen. And now that we're saying ages, you're sixteen and-"

"Katara..." He was practically pleading with her now.

"What?"

Sokka walked up to her and she crossed her arms.

"What on earth would he know about love?"

She laughed.

"He _is _the Avatar," she pointed out smugly.

Sokka gave her a quizzical look.

"What are you implying? That the other Avatar's are kissing you as well? Leading him and telling him what to do?"

"Well," she said, considering the statement, "knowing Roku, probably not... but Kyoshi, on the other hand might be a big influence on the-"

"_KATARA!"_

"Oh, come on. I was only kidding. Geeze."

He blankly stared at her.

"Sokka... can't you just be happy for me?"

He shrugged. Katara looked away.

"I would... but that wouldn't make me a very good big brother, would it?"

She looked at him again and put a hand on his shoulder. He gazed at it and then back at her. Maybe he could be a _little _more lenient.

He found himself sighing overdramatically.

"I suppose I could give you a little more room. Just don't do anything mushy around me, okay?"

"Oh, Sokka!" She wrapped her arms around him almost instantly and hugged him tightly. "Thank you!"

Sokka rolled his eyes at her.

"Yeah... sure... whatever..." he mumbled.

Katara pulled away.

"Sokka?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't you need to put on some pants?"

He looked down at his bare legs.

"Maybe that would be smart."

--

Toph heard the front door slam, which must have been the departure of Sokka.

Toph had felt enough vibrations to get the just of what was going on.

_Great. _She thought to herself as she opened her bedroom door and walked out into the lounge room. Hakota and Aang still weren't out, Sokka was gone, and Katara was sitting on the floor by her lonesome.

"I'm going for a walk," she said.

She had the door closed before Katara could answer.

--

After a short while of aimless wandering, she had finally found him. Sokka was standing outside a large boutique-like shop, staring into the window.

"Do you want to go in?"

Sokka jumped when hearing the voice.

"Oh... Hi, Toph... Yeah, I was thinking of some shopping... since you know... I lost my boomerang _and_ space sword."

She looked down. That had been her fault.

"You know, normally, Snoozles, I'd hate shopping. But, taking into account the things you've been through the past few weeks, I'm okay with it just this once."

He nodded, looking a little downcast.

They walked into the store.

"If I asked you something, would you give me your honest answer?" Sokka asked her as he fiddled with an oddly shaped instrument in his hand.

"Uh... probably not. Depends on what it is."

He looked at her, but smiled.

"Alright, I'll take that as close to a 'yes' as I'm gonna get... well... What do you think about... Suki?"

Strange and mildly random question... but could she really be honest about this?

"She's _okay_," Toph responded, not exactly an honest answer.

"_Okay_?"

"Well sort of, I guess. I don't really know her that well..."

Sokka sighed quietly to himself.

"Yeah... sorry I asked you."

"You should be," she said, snickering, then punched him in the arm.

He grabbed at his arm on instinct, even though it didn't actually hurt. He'd been hit there so many times, it was as if his body was building up a tolerance for it.

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Why do you feel the need to always insult people and hurt people... you know?"

Toph rolled her eyes.

"It's my nature. Now, are you going to buy something, or am I going to have to do it for you?!"

Sokka looked around the store briefly and thought deeply about what he wanted.

"You know what? I think we should find somewhere to buy you a dress for the party tonight."

Toph crossed her arms.

"That's tonight?" she asked in a soft voice, quite unlike herself.

"Yeah. And I know for a fact you don't have anything to wear."

She looked away and blushed slightly.

"You'd do that for me? Don't you want something?"

"Not really. And I also know you can't really choose on your own."

She pondered it momentarily, but then realization hit her.

"You just want to get me in something hideous don't you?"

Sokka laughed.

"Well now that you say that..." He saw the look on her face and put his hands in the air as if surrendering. "Just kidding!"

"You better be," she responded in a threatening voice. "So, where to?"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Mmm... actiony. ish.**

**Dum de dum de dum. Writers block wont go ewai, so I'm writing more fanfiction to pass the time. Yay me.**

**All my chapters seem to be horribly disfigured cliffhangers... . Excuse that.**

**Sokka's Instincts 2: Yeah. Katara isn't Ty Lee. She's just gleeful. Sorry ;) About to change anyway... bwahahah!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Chapter 10

"Ugh! This is horrible. Why did I even agree to this?" Toph complained, trying to stay as still as possible as the woman behind her tightened the laces on the dress she wore. It was a pale pink with a small bow attached to the waist, ribbons extending down to her knees.

"Because I asked you to. Now stop squirming!" Sokka replied, mixed emotions of annoyance and humor flooding his tone.

He stood in the doorway watching the woman behind Toph make a disgusted face every time the adolescent earthbender fidgeted with the garment.

They had been in eight different stores and Toph had tried on at least two dozen dresses. She was far past the point of exhaustion and wasn't too keen on the idea of looking for a dress anyway. She'd rather wear her regular Earth Kingdom clothes from home.

She growled under her breath.

"What color is it?" Toph demanded.

Sokka sighed, but the woman dressing her answered.

"Pink."

Toph couldn't supress her anger any longer.

"PINK!? I _hate _pink! It's girly and... and... ugh! Sokka?! Why?!"

Sokka seemed unruffled. He shrugged.

"Well, it looks nice on you."

Normally, Toph would have blushed at his complement, but at the moment she was too furious to even give it a second thought.

"I don't _care._ I'm done looking for dresses. I think I'll just wear what I always wear."

She stepped down from the platform, stumbling and reaching for Sokka's arm. She'd almost forgotten that the whole store was made from wood and that the earth she loved so dearly was at least three feet from giving her 'vision'.

"Toph, be realistic. You can't even see what you're wearing... no pun intended... so why do you care what you have on? If you look nice, you should wear it. And... since you can't pose your own opinion, why ignore mine?"

The dressing lady rolled her eyes and walked out of the room. Toph crossed her arms.

"...Pink?" she asked simply.

Sokka pursed his lips in aggravation.

"Yes. How about this... we go home and ask Katara, Aang, and my dad's opinions? Maybe when we get there, Sukki will be there too." He smiled at the thought of seeing his love again. Toph made a face at the name.

"Fine," she mumbled in a harsh tone. Strangely, she wasn't in the mood to fight.

--

Aang was sitting on the floor, his arms around his knees and his face buried into the cocoon he made out of himself.

"How could this happen? She was just there..." he trailed off and began to mumble unintelligibly.

"It's not your fault, Aang," Hakota tried to comfort him.

Aang looked up from his fetal position and stared at Katara's father with weary eyes.

"Yes. Yes it is. If only we didn't... k-kiss... then Sokka wouldn't have made me go into another room and I would be here to protect her..."

He sobbed deeply and moaned.

Hakota patted him on the back.

"None of this is your fault. You can't look back on hindsight and say you should've done something differently. I don't think it's fair to blame yourself." He paused and shifted his eyes from the wreck known as Aang, to a scroll in the young boy's hand. "Could I see that?"

Aang nodded softly and lazily handed the parchment to him.

Hakota unrolled it, pulling it apart with two hands. It read,

_Avatar,_

_We have your water tribe peasant. If you ever wish to see her again, you will do as I say._

_Outside the grand fire nation capitol lies a trail._

_It parts at a crossroads after a short distance as you most likely know._

_Follow the trail and take the left path._

_There will be another, smaller trail that leads off of the originial path._

_Follow this to find our cave._

_If you are with company, you will not be able to see us._

_Come alone._

_You have until twilight to find us. Or else for her..._

_Death... __If she's lucky._

Hakota rolled it back up.

"What do you think they want?" he asked.

Aang's eyes narrowed.

"A fight."

Hakota pondered the words. He felt so much grief for his daughter and the young boy in front of him. They had been through so much. Now the war was over. They shouldn't have to suffer anymore. He should've known it would never really be _over._

"How did they even get her, though? I didn't hear anything."

Aang looked away.

"It's even more my fault then. I heard someone talking, but I thought it was someone we knew..." He trusted his head into his hands again. "I can't believe I let this happen. Why didn't she scream? Why?... Oh spirits..."

"Aang..."

The door opened. The two reflexively looked upwards, but didn't move otherwise. It was only Toph and Sokka.

Sokka immediately knew something was wrong.

"You look nice," Aang said softly to Toph, though his voice was threaded with melancholy.

"Uh... thanks?" she replied, unsure of his comment.

Sokka interrupted them.

"What happened?" he demanded.

Aang handed him the scroll as he walked over.

Toph looked over his shoulder instinctively, though Sokka quickly caught on and read it quietly out loud to her.

Concern and shock clouded Sokka's features.

"That doesn't sound good," Toph managed, though the atmosphere was too thick for words.

"What are we going to do?" Aang asked, peering through his knees at the ground.

Sokka smirked.

"Exactly what the note says to do."

Toph smiled at the thought, but then realized she wouldn't be the one beating people up and frowned.

Aang threw Sokka a puzzled glance.

"You're the Avatar. You defeated _Ozai_! You can easily take out these thugs."

"Sokka, Aang shouldn't have to..." Hakota trailed off, pleading.

Sokka ignored him.

"Aang. Don't you want to save your... girlfriend?" He winced very noticably at the term. Anything to get him motivated...

Aang looked up and raised an eyebrow, but then shook his head to shake off the unrelated questions.

"Of course! If she gets hurt..." He looked back down.

"Come on, you Avatar, you!" Sokka said enthusiastically, extending his arm to help the airbender up.

He took it, inhaled a deep breath, and wiped away his drying tears with his free hand.

"Okay..."

"Good. You better hit the road. We don't want to miss the party," Sokka said encouragingly.

Toph laughed. "I wouldn't mind," she said.

Sokka rolled his eyes.

"I bet you wouldn't."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: This is a weird chapter. Kinda crazy. ;) You know you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Chapter 11

Katara's heavy eyelids fluttered open. Her eyes hadn't adjusted yet, so she couldn't see anything but the darkness surrounding her. She pushed off the floor to stand, but was thrusted back downward by a force on her wrists. She was shackled somehow.

Footsteps could be heard in the distance.

The bitter cold nipped at her fingers and toes. She shivered and tensed her jaw muscles, trying not to let her teeth chatter.

"H-hello? Who's there? Where... where am I?" she asked to the figures in the deep blackness. Her eyes could make out a few of their shapes.

"She's awake," one of the men said nonchalantly and walked out of her line of sight.

The second figure took deep strides closer to her. She felt numb.

"Hello," a cold man's voice rushed into her ears.

Katara's teeth were rattling freely.

"Who a-are y-y-you?"

The man coughed a laugh.

"What's your name?" he asked raising his eyebrow.

Katara could see him clearly now. He had sharp features and a chin that squared off into a masculine jawline giving him a grotesque look. He was quite handsome, actually. His hair was a light brown, falling barely over his hazel eyes, and his whole face seemed to glow. Maybe there was a lit candle behind her... She was too cold to double check...

"Who..." She inhaled deeply. "Who are y-you?" she asked again.

He scoffed at her.

"Get the lady a blanket," he called out to who seemed like no one. There wasn't an answer.

The man kneeled on one knee at her side and used his free hand to grip her chin. He pulled her face upwards and forced her to look at him.

"I _said_ 'What's your name?'" he repeated darkly.

She winced.

"K-Katara, who-"

"Hold your breath," he cut her off.

Another man entered the room from the corner that led out of her sight. He approached her and chuckled as he handed her a thick sheet.

She looked down only to realize she was stripped to her bathing suit. She took the sheet from the unknown man graciously, smiling at it's unexpected warmth as she wrapped it around herself.

"Thanks."

He waved her off, turned around, and walked back the way he came.

"Okay, _Katara_," the first said through gritted teeth, "If you know what's best for you, you'll _shutup_, stay _put_, and be a _good little girl_. Got it?"

Her eyes widened in fear, but she nodded.

Why was she fearful? She was most likely the best waterbender in known existance. She could take both of those men out in a heartbeat, and probably anyone else she came across while in this weird... cave... or whatever it was. Not to mention, Aang, Sokka, and Toph were probably on their way to get her right now!

But something about the man in front of her made her want to scream and beg for her life. Something here just wasn't right.

Katara shuffled a little backwards in her sitting position, going as far as the chains would entice. She half cuddled, half plopped onto the cold stone wall, suddenly quite exhausted.

Her eyelids drifted over her irises and she was soon, once again, asleep.

--

"Well, this is your stop, Twinkletoes," Toph announced, patting Aang on the back as he crawled off of Appa and onto the smooth cobble trail.

"It should be down there somewhere," Sokka said. He made a quick gesture at the smaller trail leading off of the one they were already on. "If this 'ransom' note is correct, you wont be able to see them at all if we come with you. We'll be here if you need us. But I have a feeling you wont."

"Yeah, so kick some serious butt for me, Aang," Toph laughed.

Aang nodded vaguely and head off towards the trail.

"Thanks guys," he said.

It was much windier here than it was in the city or in the sky. This scenery itself seemed imensely windblow; trees knocked sideways and uprooted, bushes disfigured, grass that naturally grew on a tilt. It was quite unnatural and only got worse as he ventured.

Aang kept a steady pace until the cave was in sight. It had a familiar look to it, but in an odd way. The entrance was squared off on one side, and the other was rounded near the top, a sign of wear from brutal winds. It was almost a fortress to the furious sandstorm it kept out.

Aang began to jog towards it, but felt like he was going to be lifted by the air currents. He airbended them around him, causing it to be still in the path that he strided in.

A tall man stood just inside the cave, unaffected by the weather on the outside. He had wispy black hair that fell behind his shoulders, most likely in a loose ponytail. His arms were crossed and he was leaning on the cave wall.

As Aang approached, the man laughed. The airbender entered the cave and the roaring of the currents ceased. He looked behind him once more, and they were still at it, though he was not affected.

"Glad you made it," the man said snidely. "She was giving up hope on you."

Aang made a low growling noise.

"_Where is she?_" he asked, focusing all his energy on making the sentence sound threatening.

The man seemed to ignore it all together.

"Thought you'd like this place," he ranted, "It used to be the home of a few dozen Air Nomads. E'says that the crazy homicidal winds out there are their spirits. Dead, after Sozin pitilessly murdered them all." He shrugged. "Well, along with your monks as well, but you know that story."

Aang could feel the shock and confusion in his features, but couldn't alter them. He could see the tears clouding in his eyes, but attempted to keep them from falling, failing in his struggle.

"W-what?" He was definitely caught off guard if that's what the ponytailed man was trying to do.

"I'm not here to tell you a history lesson, kid. Anyway, like I was saying, your watertribe girl was giving up on you. She was crying, 'Oh, he'll never come. He doesn't care. He hates me. He hates me,' she said. It was pretty funny."

Aang glowered at him.

"What? That doesn't sound like her at all. Katara would never give up! Besides, what gives you the right to steal an innocent girl from her home and-"

"_Innocent_?" he sneered, "If she was _innocent,_ she wouldn't be here right now. The reason she's even in our possession is because she's a murdering bi-"

"_KATARA, _would _never_ hurt _anyone_!"

"If that was even remotely true, we would've just captured you and been on our way. Maybe we'd take out that bimbo of a Fire Lord as well. We didn't do this for no reason. It'd be easier to do it the original way. But, we're doing this for revenge. To make her suffer. To make her know what it feels like to endure agony and stay that way until _death._" His voice was hushed, but sharp, the last word causing a loud ringing in Aang's ears.

The young monk's hands were balled up into tight fists, his cheeks and ears steamed a boiling red, and his face distorted into a strange stare-down.

"If you lay _one finger_ on her, you're world will cease to exist," Aang managed, his voice back to the threatening, deadly tone.

"Guess you're going to have to kill me then, because that's too late to amend."

Aang growled again, deeper and longer than the first. He thrusted himself at the man, his staff above his head, ready to strike. He combinded an air and fire attack, making the assault like an explosion, but it was dodged with ease.

"That the best you got?" Aang heard him say from somewhere behind him, snickering all the while.

"I'm not done yet," he replied, turning and blasting the figure with rocks from the wall behind him, which all managed to miss. "If she's... hurt!... you are all going... down!" he panted, initiating attacks here and there.

The man returned the earthbending attacks and created some as well.

"Why don't you just... go back to where you came from... and let us kill the girl," he replied, trying to be persuasive. "I wont hurt you... just leave and don't come back... I'll tell them you never showed up."

"I will _not_ leave Katara here with the likes of you!" Aang retorted.

A fairly large flaming rock 'whooshed' past the man's head, burning some hair as it past. It left a black ash mark on the side of his face. He did a double take at it as it landed behind him.

"Nice one," he barked.

"Tell me where she is!" Aang demanded, earthbending the ceiling towards the floor at the tall man. He looked up and without moving, stopped it above his head and placed it back where it belonged.

"Eh. I'd rather not." He shrugged.

Aang's eyes narrowed.

"You know," the figure said, "for the Avatar, you're really not as good as they say."

His body did a 360 and he tossed earthen disks at the airbender.

Aang stopped them halfway and returned them with more force than before. One slit about a half inch into the man's side, causing blood to tread through his shirt.

"For an earthbender, you're really not as _keen_ as you should be."

"For an airbender, you're not as _dead_ as you should be."

Aang charged at him, counteracting attacks and airbending himself out of certain-death situations.

"Well, well," a voice behind him spoke, "I'm happy you showed up, Avatar."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I can't help it! Everything has to be a cliffhanger! I'm sorry .**

**Lol. Azula is _not_ the voice. And I SWEAR I didn't do that just in spite of you all... there's a point to it haha. There's a point to everything... Hei-Bai, Cho-Chai, Azula being dead... don't guess! Just read. ;)**

**Anywayy... R&R. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Chapter 12

Aang turned a little to his side to keep them both in view. The attacks stopped and the man he was battling bowed to the other, but it lacked respect.

"I'm Jae," he continued, "And I see you've met Dujin." Jae chuckled. "The third of our little trio is Minsu, but you probably won't see him much."

"I don't care," Aang replied simply, "Where. Is. Katara?"

"You're very impatient, I see. It's to be expected from one as young as you."

"You wont hurt her. I'm here now, your note told me to-"

"The note said to come here to see her again. Not that she would survive. Which... eventually she wont. But, I can tell she is very strong willed."

"What do I have to do to guarantee her safety?" Aang asked.

Jae rested his head on his hand and gave Aang a stern look.

"Surrender yourself. We'll most likely auction you off to a bounty hunter of some kind. Your death would be a waste to us."

"I'll do it," he replied, not skipping a beat.

Jae clicked his tongue three times and shook his head softly.

"So sure of your priorities. It's sad. The world will miss having the Avatar around. You know, you're giving up a lot more by surrendering than you would be if you just let her die."

"No. I could never live with myself in a world where she didn't exist."

Jae and Dujin laughed in harmony.

"Hmm... maybe we should keep him around for awhile. He's hilarious!"

Aang looked away in shame. How could they possibly find any of this funny? He just wanted to live in peace and not have to endure the pain of losing people. Was that too much to ask for?

Dujin spoke up.

"Nah, he'll just hold us back. Do you know how much we'd get for him? We'd be golden!"

Jae rolled his green-brown eyes.

"C'mon, boy," he commanded to Aang, thrusting his head to the side in a beckoning way.

"Aren't you afraid he's going to escape?" Dujin asked submissively.

Jae shook his head.

"We've got the waterbender. He's too sincere to leave her."

Dujin chuckled once again, but continued to watch Aang with a cautious stare.

"What a pathetic being..."

--

"He's taking _forever_," Toph complained. "Shouldn't they be back by now?"

"Just give him more time."

Toph shrugged, leaning back on Appa's saddle and putting her arms behind her head.

"Maybe we should give him a boost in the right direction. We could be in there in minutes and just come right back out."

Sokka sighed.

"20 more minutes, Toph. Then we will, okay?"

She closed her eyes.

"Fine.. whatever."

--

"Aang!" Katara yelped, followed by a cough from the cold air she too-quickly inhaled.

"Katara!"

Aang took a leaping stride towards her, but was pulled back by a very muscular hand of Dujin.

"Cool it, kid."

Katara pulled her knees into her arms and gazed at the three figures as they walked by.

"Be happy we're being generous enough to even put you in this chamber. Now there's going to be no funny business going on at all. I'll make sure of that."

He picked up shackles on the floor and tightened Aang into them. He pulled at his lower arm to make sure the airbender wouldn't slip out of them.

Jae scoffed at the two and watched as Dujin walked out of the room.

"Last chance, Avatar. You're making a mistake."

Aang didn't respond.

Jae glanced over at the waterbender and sighed.

"You're life."

He exited as well.

As soon as he was out of sight, Aang tried to walk as close to Katara as the chains would allow and sat down. She did the same, but they were still at least seven feet from each other.

"Did they hurt you? Because I swear..."

"No, Aang. I'm fine."

There was a short pause.

"I know you're blaming yourself for this," Katara said, smiling weakly at him.

"Well I-"

"And you did something stupid and ridiculous to get yourself down here, didn't you?"

Aang sighed.

"You know me too well," he admitted sheepishly.

Katara giggled softly and Aang smiled.

"Or you're just _really_ predictable."

There was another silence. It wasn't akward, but a comforting kind of silence.

"I love you, Katara," Aang said sincerely, gazing at her intensely.

A bright pink flooded her cheeks and Aang contemplated if it was his words or the chilly air doing it to her.

"I... I love you too... but..."

"But?" He wasn't really expecting a 'but'.

"You say that like you're never going to see me again."

"Oh." Aang looked at the floor.

It wasn't really a 'but' as much as it was a 'tell me what you're not telling me'.

"Oh," she repeated after him. "You _did_ do something stupid and ridiculous."

"Yeah, but it might turn out to our liking."

"Might?"

Aang scratched his forehead.

"Yeah. I'm trying to use Bumi's neutral jin trick, but it's sort of harder than I thought. I can't do anything else until the right moment strikes, but I have no idea when that is..." he trailed off, squinting his eyes to give an impression as if he were in deep thought.

"Oh. Well..." Katara hesitated, "We could always" -she gulped loudly- "bloodbend... our way out of this."

Aang marveled at the idea, but glanced at her trying to read her expression.

"You'd... you'd be okay with that?"

"Anything to get us back home safely... together." She shrugged.

"Alright, well..." Aang trailed off, watching as Katara's face distorted from the focused, calm look to one he couldn't make out. "Katara?"

Her brow crinkled in confusion and she pointed at some area behind Aang's head. He turned around.

Behind him, pawing softly at the root of his chains stood a overly-large panda.

As Aang glanced at him, he looked up.

"Hei-Bai?"

The panda discontinued his work at the metal shackles and peeked at the exit of the 'room'. He pointed with one paw, such as a fox-leopard would when hunting, and a second later, vanished in midair.

Footsteps began to echo in hearing range and the pair of men entered the vast room with a third, who Aang guessed, was Minsu.

Aang and Katara exchanged looks, but then focused back on the trio. They were whispering among each other and throwing the two prisoners constant sideways glances.

"C'mon, we're leaving," Jae said, finally - more to Aang than Katara.

Minsu and Dujin then released them of their imprisonment and walked back to Jae's side. He motioned them to follow.

Katara rushed Aang almost consecutively after she was unbound. She contricted him into a tight hug making him stumble and linger before he could hug her in return.

"Whoa," he said under his breath, laughing softly. He pulled her away from him, but not ridding them of contact, and slid his hand into hers. Katara blushed lightly and smiled, tugging at him so that they could follow the men who were already around the corner.

The men were waiting impatiently for them to show up. Jae rolled his eyes when he saw them come into sight and commanded Dujin and Minsu to contain them.

Aang and Katara listened to the men, no concern for their own lives, only each others.

They walked out into the terrace, harrassed by the wind, and followed the exterior of the cave until they were on the back side of it. Another, very faint trail lay before them, the wind slowing down as they walked. They continued at their rushed pace and ended up facing an antiqued wagon.

"Get in," Jae commanded to Aang and Katara.

They crawled into the back, Minsu following them, and Jae and Dujin took up the front seat.

Minsu closed the back of the wagon, making sure it was sealed tight, and sat down inbetween the two teens.

"So... are you a bender?" Aang asked casually.

Minsu scoffed at the question.

"Yeah."

"Oh? What kind?"

The burly man pulled a leather pouch from his side. It resembled Katara's.

"Me too," Katara said, boredness in her voice, but she tried to mask it with excitement.

"Mmm. I know."

The waterbender leaned forward and cupped her face with her hands.

"So, do you know why we're here?" Aang questioned.

Minsu laughed, desperately and manically, like he genuinely found the question funny.

He cleared his throat and pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. Then he turned his torso to face Aang full on.

"Oh... you were serious?"

Aang nodded.

"Huh. I could've sworn you would've known the reason for your own capture... well... Jae has this huge grudge against you," he mused, pointing his finger at Katara.

Minsu now had both of their full attention.

"What? Why?" Aang inquired, terribly confused. Why would anyone hold a grudge against Katara? She _was_ Katara.

"Well, you see..." He lowered his voice. "Your friend here kinda killed..." -he paused for dramatic effect- "Azula."

Katara gasped. Tears started to form in her eyes and Aang stared at her with a worried look painted on his face.

"He hates me for that?"

"You better believe it," he said putting his hands behind his head and chuckling lowly. He felt like a little teenage girl gossiping. "I'm sure you know _Zuko,_ don't you?"

"Of course," she replied.

"Ugh... anyway... his uncle is practically his father figure, right?"

"Mhmm."

"Jae... he was sorta like that to Azula." Minsu shrugged. "Not like her biological father wasn't there for her, but Ozai never did _anything._ He was... I guess... her publicity dad. Jae was her everything-else,-no-rush-to-get-to-the-point-dad. If that makes any sense..."

Katara pondered it for a minute. Sure it made sense, but she never really thought about Azula as anything more than a power crazy princess. She figured she just 'worked alone'.

"Why didn't he kill Katara?" Aang asked.

"Aang!"

Aang put his hands on his knees and leaned forward.

"What? I'm just curious."

Minsu laughed his signature, low, muffled laugh.

"You guys sound like an old married couple," he declared.

That surely kicked the blushes into gear. Aang leaned back into a sitting position again and Katara crossed her arms.

"You know, you guys ain't so bad. Too bad we're gonna have to dispose of you."

"What? I gave myself up so you'd let her go!"

Katara flung her arms out, leaned forward and squinted her eyes in a 'What?!' look.

"Later," he replied at her gesture, waving her off. She rolled her eyes, but smiled.

"Ha ha. You thought he'd just let her go after she murdered Azula? Naw. She's got a lot more to endure."

Aang narrowed his eyes and glowered at him.

"You will _not _hurt her!"

Minsu shook his head.

"You're right. I won't. But Jae's got a different agenda."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: A shorter chapter, but I finally got it up. Sorry about the wait. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get another one up soon either... even though I know where I'm going with this, I'm having problems putting it into text. So... I've been using 'To Desire' to jump start my brain... Please review!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Chapter 13

The wagon reeled to a stop. Minsu thumped at the door and it flew open. They were back in the city.

Aang pushed off his feet to spring into a standing position but was pushed downward again.

"Stay here. Trust me, you don't wanna piss Jae off."

Aang mumbled to himself, and raised an eyebrow, but shrugged all the words away from his throat. He looked over Minsu's shoulder as he turned around. The fountain of Cho-Chai was just outside.

"Umm..."

Katara gave him a sideways look.

"Huh?"

He shook his head.

Hei-Bai appeared in the wagon as soon as Minsu closed the door from the outside. He showed them his pointing position again, this time pointing to the shut door.

"What is it?" Aang asked.

Hei-Bai grunted and shook his paw.

Aang shrugged and Katara raised her eyebrows.

As Aang opened his eyes from blinking, he was suddenly in the spirit world.

Everything in the swampy like area that he seemed to be entering way too often, seemed more floral than usual. There were strange purple flowers all over the place. And it was raining.

"This isn't really a good time, Roku- Kyoshi?"

Avatar Kyoshi was in front of him with her arms in the sleeves of her Kyoshi warrior uniform, her eyes closed.

She opened them.

"Hello, Aang."

"Where's Roku?"

Kyoshi blinked in a manner that made it seemed as if she was confused.

"Gone."

"Gone?" Aang questioned, more confused than Kyoshi's expression.

"Yes. You will not understand until you are older."

"How much older?"

She shook her head.

"Once you become a spirit guide."

Aang couldn't help but mangle his expression, but then realized he needed to get back to the material world.

"Wh-what am I doing here?" he asked

Kyoshi pursed her lips in disapproval.

"Cho-Chai, the spirit, is angered at you," she said, simply.

"I didn't-"

"I know, I know. But there is something _you _must know," she pressed, "There is a grave danger lurking in your shadow. I am forbidden to speak of the situation, but you must be more careful. Do not do anything rash, Aang."

"What are you talking about?"

But everything was fading away; Kyoshi, the flowers, the swamp.

He was back in his body.

"Aang? Aang?!" Katara was shaking him. They were still in the wagon.

"I'm here, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I was just so worried that you-"

"Wait, wait... shhh," he quieted her, putting a finger to her lips.

She quieted and voices could be heard from outside the wagon.

"...can take this one back to Gon Si and put it with the other caravans too. It we intercept enough we can-"

"No."

"But Jae, we can't leave it here. If someone sees us escorting the Avatar and... friend... out of the city, they'll cause a commotion or something."

"It doesn't matter. That's all out of the question. I have a better idea."

A third voice chimed in.

"Hey, will you please tell me why we even tied them up if we were going to leave so soon?"

"Would you keep your voice down, Dujin?" Jae said through gritted teeth. "We weren't expecting to depart so... haste-fully."

"You're idea, Jae?" Minsu reminded him.

"Ah, yes. We need to return this caravan to where it came from. If anyone finds it, it will give us away. It doesn't matter if they make a commotion..." Jae lowered his voice and said something unaudible from inside the wagon.

"Oh. But..." Minsu trailed off.

"What?" Jae asked in return.

"What about the girl?"

"We'll kill her. Know one will know what happened. Freak accident. I already explained this to you."

Katara let out a gasp, but Aang clamped his hand over her mouth.

"That seems... unneccisary, Jae."

"She's just dead weight to us."

"I don't know..."

"There is nothing to know. I've gotten us this far, you are not turning your back on me now just because of some girl!"

Minsu sighed.

"I'll go get them."

Jae scoffed at him.

"Not here, you fool! In the back..."

"We could blame it on the Fire Lord!" Dujin interjected in proclaimation.

There was silence.

Jae broke it. "A possibility..."

Feet could be heard shuffling to the front of the wagon. Aang attempted to open the door, but it didn't budge.

The caravan shifted, and Aang knew they were moving again. Katara was wide eyed, but Aang removed his hand from her mouth and quickly replaced it with his own lips.

She blushed. "What was that for?"

"Staying alive through everything long enough for me to be able to do that."

A smile fluttered across her face.

He had this uncanny knack for bringing hope into every situation.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this up. I've had finals and birthdays and packing (because we're moving) so I've just been writing things I feel less connected to. So... I got this up. Finally. :) The next will be up much quicker, and hopefully I'll be going back to my normal pace. (If you're confused by this chapter, it will be explained in the next... no worries) R&R if you will. Thanks.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Chapter 14

Aang flicked his hand in the air, water appearing where it wasn't once before.

"What're you doing?" Katara asked, noticing him using the waterbending move she'd taught him to summon water.

"Getting us out of here. The door is locked or jammed or... whatever the case, we can cut through it. Help me?"

He sliced at the door with the airborn liquid, pushing it towards Katara. She nodded, pushing it back, slowly peeling at the wood and rough metal of the door.

"Why don't you just" -she pushed the water back once again- "firebend at the door?"

He continued the process.

"I can feel it and little of it would burn if I did. There are three layers of metal... apparently different kinds. There are no hinges; strange, but I suppose it's opened with some sort of earthbending? I even tested opening it like that but I had no luck... so this seemed the easiest way."

Katara was sort of confused. Why was there an earthbending caravan out here in the fire nation? The trades from the other nations to here wasn't allowed yet, since certain treaties haven't been put through or completed... And she put herself down for constantly forgetting Aang could see things like Toph if he wanted to.

"Okay."

It didn't take them much longer to cut the door down, but they were moving and it hit the ground with a clanking noise.

Aang sweeped her off her feet and she clung tightly.

"Hold on."

He jumped out, landing softly with airbending, and placing her on the city floor.

"You okay?" he asked.

She nodded, looking around.

Katara hadn't thought about how big the fire nation capitol was. She'd never even seen this place before.

"Where are we?"

Aang didn't reply. He took at glimpse behind him as the caravan they had just escaped from was charging back towards them, Minsu and Dujin hauling out of it and taking fighting positions.

He grabbed at her hand and beckoned her to hide, but it was too late. They were on their trail.

"How'd they find out we left so fast?"

Katara simply shrugged.

"Aang? Katara?"

Sokka and Suki were running up to them, Toph trotting behind.

"Avatar... I told you not to make Jae angry... Hey wait... I know that girl!" Dujin exclaimed, flinging a ball of earth at Aang, which shoot over his head and crashed into a house behind him.

Jae pulled the caravan to a stop and descended from it, preparing himself to fight as well.

"Yeah, it's the girl from earlier. The blind one," said Minsu.

Toph stood next to Katara, raising an eyebrow.

"It's freaky water dude! Snoozles, they're the guys I was talking about!"

Jae scoffed at the two.

"Snoozles?"

Both of them shrugged, but Sokka made a signal to Suki as he did so. She nodded and leapt forward, striking the earthbender, Dujin, with her hand weapon and he fell to his knees.

Minsu became jumpy.

"Whoa. I didn't see that coming."

The eight bodies exchanged glances, not counting Dujin, who was rubbing his ribs and moaning softly. Blows began to fly; Katara and Toph against Minsu, who was much more talented than expected, Suki and Sokka fighting Dujin who was very skilled, but weakened by Suki's first sly blow, and Aang against Jae. They seemed to move as they fought, ignoring the city-folk as they ventured, but not injuring any innocents. Most people found sanctuary inside their homes, a smart idea with six fiercesome benders and two warriors on the streets.

They were back at the fountain once again, like they were constantly summoned there or something. Aang felt guilt for letting Katara get this close, remembering what the nymph had told him. There was a fear inside of him that something would happen, but sooner than he could lead everyone away, the skies changed in color.

Most stopped fighting, but Jae ignored it, so Aang couldn't cease exchanging blows with him. They were passing fire back and forth, Aang attempting to combine different elements to attack with, mostly a failure. Jae was quick and caught him off guard several times, forcing Aang on the offense. His eyes darted at the sky a few times while in combat, but focused mostly on not getting hit.

Hai-Bei appeared out of thin air from behind Jae, knocking him over and making Aang confused once again. Why was this spirit helping him now, when he needed help mostly during the battle with Ozai? Why wasn't there spirits aiding him then, when he was hanging by a thread to stay alive?

He shook his head. It didn't matter. That was then, and this was now.

Since Suki and Sokka had been victorious in their strife against Dujin, who was now hapless on the ground, but still partially concious, there was only Minsu left. Jae had left Aang to get the angered spirit away from him, who had now changed into his hostile form, so Aang and the others ganged up on Minsu alone.

He backed up, an attempt to escape the people persuing him. Then, as he flung a water-whip at Toph, it turned a glowing red; the same as the fountain, and fell dramatically to the ground.

"Jae, Jae, it's-"

"Shut up, Minsu. Just shut up."

The air became icy, the skies blood red, and Aang felt a strange deja vu sensation.

Everyone ceased the fight, including the raging Hai-Bei, and felt as their bodies took a deep liking to the cursed fountain. Katara couldn't help but shiver, the cold enhancing her thoughts of her forced bloodbending lesson not too long ago. It felt like Hama was back, once again, to control them... but there was no Hama. There was no bloodbending. This was deranged spirit magic. Pissed off spirits trying to give them a warning.

But Aang and Katara had already had their warning.

The fountain grew black, blending into itself; the only thing contrasting with it was the swirling liquid spewing from the top.

"Avatar Aang," boomed a deep, constricted voice, "You've done well."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: R&R, I beg of you! Thanks guys. :D So very much for not giving up hope on me finishing this (It's still not finished, there are more chapters, but that actiony part is pretty much over)**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Chapter 15

Aang looked around, seeing no source for the strange voice. It was loud and echoed in his ears, but it seemed like no one else had heard it. They were all cowering or in a defensive stance.

"You've brought me the soul on the top of my list," the voice roared.

This made Aang realize who it belonged to.

"Cho-Chai?"

There was a cackling laughter.

"Who else, silly boy?"

"Don't hurt her!" Aang yelped, getting everyone to turn their heads towards him.

The wind was whistling loudly, but they all noticed him screaming in a pleading cry.

"No. Not her," the being choked, as if knowing who he was speaking of, "him!"

Aang looked around, trying to search for a sign of who the angered spirit was mentioning. The bender known as Minsu, the one that had shown them more compassion than the others, was fading from sight. The young Avatar watched him disappear before his eyes, confusion and agony growing inside him.

"What did you do!?" Aang asked.

"He has stolen from me, and has paid the price. That is all you need to know."

"Then how did you know who I was talking about?"

The voice thundered again. "I am the brethren of Wan Shi Tong, Tui and La... I am a knowledgable spirit."

Aang sighed.

He was relieved he didn't have to watch the soul-destroying process. Glad it wasn't Katara even though Cho-Chai knew what she'd 'done', but felt sorrow... not for Minsu's life, but for his soul. How could a soul be gone? Another death that didn't need to be. Another life taken before his eyes, like so many others.

This brought memories back to him. Horrible memories of death and sadness. Of blood and lifelessness.

The other spirit, Hei-Bai, had charged toward the fountain, jumping on it like a crazed animal. He pulled insistantly at the nymph on the top, snapping it off like a twig. It fell to the stone ground and turned back to it's light golden color.

Katara approached Aang, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"What's going on?!"

He shook his head. He wasn't sure exactly, but he knew there was an angry other-worldly being destroying souls. It'd be best for everyone if they left. It'd be best not to find out if the spirit wanted more. And it'd be best not to have a reason to trigger anymore of those horrible memories from the final show down with Ozai. He didn't appreciate those clouding his memory.

"Guys!" he shouted to the others behind him, "I think we should leave!"

They all apparently found it a good idea, since they followed him away from the fountain.

They didn't get far before the sky died down again. It became a light blue as it was earlier. Jae and Dujin followed behind them, not pursuing, but running as they did. They were just as frightened and confused.

"What now, Jae?"

The firebender glared at his companion.

"We can still capture the Avatar..." he said in suggestion, panting and leaning against the side of a house. There was still no one outside even though it was midday. Aang figured it was something to do with the bender battle and the lunatic fountain that caused this to occur.

Toph laughed her sweet yet annoying laugh.

"Are you guys for real?" she asked, sighing and and pointing somewhere behind the two. "That's them! Guards!"

A half dozen heavy set men in fire nation uniforms jogged up to the unsuspecting duo and clasped them in chains.

Aang looked at Toph, then at Sokka, who had his arms crossed, and back at the kidnappers.

--

"So, Toph..." Aang asked her, after they were back at the house. "What happened when I went into the cave, anyway?"

Katara sat across from him (thanks to Sokka), Sokka next to him, and Toph next to Sokka. Suki was lying in Sokka's lap, and Hakoda sat next to his daughter.

Toph sighed deeply.

"Well, we went in there, but you guys were missing... obviously. We kinda had a panic attack at first... yes, I'll admit it - but we calmed down. Then we had no idea where you were, so we went back to the house. Suki showed up, and wanted to tag along with us. We alerted the guards of a kidnapping and a murder threat, which they weren't going to tolerate since the war had recently ended and they were tired of the... well everything. Then, we found you while we were heading out of the city actually... That's pretty much it. You know the rest."

"Oh, well... how'd the guards find us, then?"

She shrugged.

"More luck? Avatar... luck... seems to go hand in hand with you."

Katara tried to stiffle her giggle by clasping her hands over her mouth. Aang flashed a smile at her and Sokka elbowed him.

"What?" the airbender asked.

Sokka just rolled his eyes.

"Okay," Suki said, sitting upright and clasping her hands together. "I think we should get ready for the party."

Katara smiled. "Yeah! Oh my gosh, I should've started when we got home. C'mon Toph, you first."

"Guhh... not the pink dress."

Sokka laughed at her and she punched him in the arm.

"Oww... you look nice in that dress."

"Don't make me break your nose."

Toph stood up and followed Katara into her bedroom. Suki tagged along giggling and waving goodbye to Sokka.

Hakoda shook his head.

"Wow. Girls are _so_ weird," Sokka admitted.

Aang nodded, though no one was watching.

"Well. We should get ready, then," the warrior suggested.

"Yeah. Good idea."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: You guys, there _are_ STILL more chapters. This is not the end. :) Please R&R. Thank you very much!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Chapter 16

"Toph, will you stop with your fidgeting?"

Toph arched her back in discomfort as Katara tried to lace up her dress.

"Sorry! I just hate this thing so much."

Katara giggled and pulled the last piece of material through a loop, tying the back and turning Toph around.

"What do you think, Suki?"

"She looks amazing."

The three girls finished their dressing up in less than an hour and head out to confront the others who were long done.

On their way out, Suki questioned Katara.

"Where'd you get your dress?"

She couldn't suppress her blush.

"Oh... this?" she replied, her cheeks warm still, "Aang gave it to me."

Suki giggled in return, but spoke of it no more.

Aang seemed to have the same reaction as the first time he saw her in the dress.

"W-wow, Katara... you look... unbelievable."

She smiled at him, enhancing her beauty even more in his eyes, and her cheeks became even more heated.

They walked out onto the streets and up to the palace. There was a long line, and after ten minutes had passed, a man pushing a large cart full of packages walked past them. He stopped in his tracks and eyed Aang up and down.

"You're the Avatar?" he asked, but it didn't sound like much of a question.

Aang just nodded.

"Oh, well you and your friends don't need to wait here. Just go up to the door and tell them who you are."

He walked away mumbling something and laughing to himself about how the Avatar would even think to 'wait in line'.

Sokka tugged on his arm.

"Sweet! Special treatment. Let's go."

Aang tried to object, but by the time he got something out that made even a mildly good argument, they were at the doors of the palace.

The guards allowed them in, realizing who Aang was well before Sokka spoke.

--

They were shuffled to the palace ballroom. It had magnificent chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. They glowed and sparkled in the air, causing the room's aura itself to lighten. People were sprawled out everywhere, few of whom they recognized, and waiters walked the room with champagne in their hands. There were two long tables on the left side of the room and a large wooden rimmed, glass dance floor smack dab in the middle. Everyone and everything just looked so... fancy. It didn't seem very Zuko.

The group made their way to one of the tables and scrounged seats next to each other. Katara wasn't ordered to sit across from Aang this time, so she took up residence next to him on instinct. Hakoda spotted some old friends and wandered off to partake in conversation with them. Suki told Toph to come on the dance floor.

"I'll teach you how to do it, Toph," she said, trying to be as convincing as possible.

Toph made a disgusted face.

"Dancing isn't really my thing. Besides, I can't see on... what is that? Glass? Who makes a dance floor out of glass?!"

They began to argue and Suki ignored her protests and attempted on pulling her onto the dance floor anyway. They ended up drifting further and further from the table as if the table was the shoreline and the dance floor a vast sea that took them away on the tides.

Sokka followed them as well, trying to get them from starting a riot of some sort.

This left Katara and Aang alone.

Aang found himself staring at her while she watched people dance. He knew he was doing it, but he didn't try to stop himself. She gave him a sidelong glance and then looked back, obviously not registering the fact that she was being stared at. It flashed in her memory again and she gave him a double-take right after she turned.

"What?" she asked, not really curious but more self-conscious.

He still gazed at her.

"Nothing, you just look really beautiful," he said without skipping a beat.

She blushed again. An act she'd been quite accustomed to lately.

They tempted each other with their eyes, hoping they were thinking the same thing.

"Hey! What are you two doing?"

The lovers became stiff and stared at Sokka.

"N-nothing."

"You guys were going to kiss again! Don't do that! Katara, I told you not to do mushy stuff around me. That covers all public places too." He paused and put his hand under his chin. "Wait, I don't mean that... it's better if you have a chaperon of some kind..."

"Sokka. That's not fair..."

"Katara - how can I be a good brother when you're so persistent. No kissing! And you guys can look at each other, but Katara, only above the waist and Aang only above... just... don't look at her!"

Katara rolled her eyes.

"What are you implying? That we're thinking vulgar things every time we look at each other? Because we're not! Right, Aang?"

He hesitated.

"Um... do you want the... the truth, or no?"

"Aang!"

He threw his hands in the air as if to defend himself.

"Well, I have trouble lying to you, so I thought it best to just-"

"_Aang!_"

"I mean, I, well..."

His cheeks turned scarlet and he scratched the back of his head with nothing else to say.

"Ugh! I can't believe you!"

She got out of her chair and walked out of the room.

Aang just looked over at Sokka.

"Aren't you mad at me?"

Sokka was having strong difficulties not laughing.

"Frankly, yes. But... you're gonna get a worse beating from her than I could ever give."

And with a quick chuckle he turned and walked away.

For Aang, this was surely going to be a long night.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hey guys, keep this in mind. Zuko is way different here than in say... the beginning of the show. He's changed, he actually has friends, he has a wife, people look up to him, people don't disrespect him, his crazy father and sibling is gone, his mom has been reunited with him... that's more than he's ever wanted! So don't criticize my Zuko. He's a really happy person now! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Chapter 17

Aang put his head in his hands on the table. He couldn't believe he just went there. That was crossing a lot more than one line, and he was pretty sure it'd take Katara a long time to forgive him. Would she... could she even forgive him?

He sighed and glanced back up, spectating all the happy people chatting and laughing, dancing and gossiping the night away. He rolled his eyes at himself but when he started glancing through the crowd to see if Katara came back, he spotted someone he didn't expect. Minsu.

This was not time for him to hallucinate. He shook his head, and the image that was there moments ago was now Zuko. People turned their heads to spare a glance at the Fire Lord, but began cheering soon after.

Aang was in no mood to approach his old firebending master, but waved after the copper eyes locked onto his. He could see Zuko smirk, even half way across the room, but the favor was not returned. Aang sat upright again, sighing to himself. His eyes followed Zuko as he marched up to him, a friendly greeting on his sharp features.

"Hello, Aang," he said, sounding weary but ecstatic. He wrinkled his brow. "What's wrong?"

The Avatar just shook his head.

"It's nothing. But I do have a favor to ask you."

"Oh?" the former banished prince smiled kindly, and Aang stood up.

"Yes, but we can discuss it later. Now's the time to celebrate your crowning."

Zuko flashed his smile again and led Aang to the front of the room. He motioned for Sokka and Toph to follow as well, and they did what was told of them.

"Where's Katara?" the young Fire Lord asked, whispering to Aang.

He shrugged. It was exactly at that point that Katara walked in the room again. Zuko gave a hand motion for her to stand with them.

She stood beside Zuko and gave the firebender a sidelong glance.

"Sorry," she said.

Zuko nodded.

"It's not a problem." He turned back to the deeply interested crowd and silenced their deafening uproar. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I'm so glad you've come here today. Before we actual start the celebration, I would like to make some announcements."

The large room fell completely silent. Zuko continued.

"First, I must say, the war is over!"

There was an overextended cheer from the group, whistles and clapping among it.

"Yes, yes," he nodded, using his hands as a gesture to quiet them once more. "I have been crowned Fire Lord to take my fathers poor ruling to the next step and bring peace back to the world." More clamor nonsense. Zuko laughed. "Now, I would like to introduce the heroes." He took a step forward, turned around and winked at the four behind him, then faced the room again. "Being blind, this young earthbender was pitied and put down, but we all know she can take care of herself. She's the greatest earthbender, strong and beautiful, the world's only metalbender: Toph the Fierce!" Zuko gestured to her. An eruption of excitement flowed through the ball room. It took a few minutes to calm down, and Zuko picked up from there. "Growing up in the Southern Water Tribe, he was known as the man of the tribe, protecting all who he loved. He is a great warrior, a powerful and intelligent man, and one of the best swordsmen I've ever met: Sokka the Mind!"

During this round of noise, Sokka nudged Toph.

"Oh, I like that!"

The crowd quieted again.

Zuko motioned to Katara. "Formally the last waterbender of the South Pole, she became a waterbending master in a much shorter time than anyone thought possible. She is a terrific and bold person, keeping people together when the time is needed for it, and the greatest waterbender this world has seen in a very long time: Katara the Magnificent!"

Katara flashed a smile at her nickname and looked over to Aang to express her happiness, but then turned away instead. Aang pretended not to notice.

After a good three minutes of cheers Zuko paused for dramatic effect.

"Finally," Zuko smiled, "the last airbender, defeater of the malicious Fire Lord Ozai, the most powerful bender in the world. He is the savior of this world and the spirit world. The bridge between the two. The protector of all of us and he brought balance back to Earth, a place that was slowly falling apart. He risked his life multiple times, suffered horrible wounds, ended the greatest evil of this world... Avatar Aang!"

There was an explosion of cheers, cries of joy, whistling, clapping... Toph could feel the room literally quake with excitement. Zuko grabbed Aang by the sleeve and pulled him forward, making the people of the room escalate even louder in noise.

Aang smiled and waved to them, feeling a bit uncomfortable with all the attention. There had to be at least five hundred individuals in the room. They were all cheering for him. For his deeds, his feat.

But he would rather have Katara stop being mad at him...

After the crowd was shushed again, Zuko said one last thing.

"Now, let the celebration begin!" And the party started back up, more thrill than before. "Oh, yeah..." Zuko said, turning to the airbender, "Aang, what was it you wanted? It's a fine time right now."

Aang laughed at his enthusiasm.

"It's sort of a weird request, but I was wondering... well, do you know that fountain on the eastern side of the city?"

Zuko nodded lightly, his brow furrowing.

"Yeah. The fountain of Cho-Chai. There's rumors a spirit lives it in."

Aang couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly.

"Well, could you do me the biggest favor of your life and get rid of it?"

"Aang," Zuko said with an amused face, "Trust me, I've been getting to it. I _hate_ that thing... It creeps me out."

Aang laughed once more.

"That's good to know."

With that, Zuko nodded as if to make an agreement and walked off. Aang saw him hug a woman who he recognized as Zuko's mother. She was standing next to Iroh as well.

The Avatar peered over at Katara who was now in conversation with her dad and Suki about... well, who knows what. He decided it best to steer clear of her for awhile in case she had any ideas of lashing out on Aang because of his rambunctious mind.

He moaned in aggravation.

Stupid mind.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Sokka's Instincts 2... I totally took your review and fit it into the story... sorry... o.O Anyway, thanks for the review. :D I'm thinking this is the last chapter... then it's off to the Epilogue... if something doesn't seem explained enough, please tell me and I'll explain it to you personally and try to fix it in the story itself. R&R puhlez. Thank you! (Yes there will be another chapter; the epilogue. Then I'm _done_)**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Chapter 18

"Toph, what did you ask for?"

She raised an eyebrow at the young Avatar.

"When Zuko told us we could choose any aspect of this party..." he said, trying to re-jog her memory from a letter they got weeks ago.

She took a bite out of the brownie in her hand. "Oh, 'hat?" she spoke with her mouth full, "'uko's s'eech."

He gave her a puzzled look. "Huh? What about it?" She rolled her pale green eyes. Toph swallowed hard and stood up, putting her plate on the table. It'd been about a half an hour after the announcements were made and Katara still hadn't spoken to Aang. She couldn't stay mad at him for this! He'd done worse... It wasn't his fault he just happened to be a teenage boy and his hormones were mind controlling him.

"You know? The whole format of it. Remind you of anything?"

He shook his head. "Not really..."

"The earthbending tournament I fought in before I joined you guys? Thought it'd be a little funny." she clued in, scratching her neck and staring off into space somewhere at the ceiling.

"Oh yeah... what about Sokka?"

The blind girl laughed.

"The food of course! He made the whole list... what'd you tell Zuko you wanted?"

"Uh..." he replied, "I didn't really want anything. It's his party." He paused and glanced over at the young waterbender dancing with a guy he didn't know. "Do you know what... Katara choose?..."

She shrugged and miraculously stared straight into Aang's eyes.

"Oh. Okay."

"Are you guys still fighting?" she questioned, sounding uninterested.

"Who says we're fighting?"

Toph looked away again.

"You would think you would've learned by now... I know _everything_, Twinkletoes." She put her hand on her hip. "And if you don't mind, I'm going to go do something else now. This is kinda boring."

He sighed and scanned the room to watch Katara again. He had to do something. Even if it meant getting her more angry at him. He couldn't just sit there and ignore the fact that she was dancing with some random fire nation guy.

--

A little over ten minutes ago, Katara had run into this guy she danced with, and almost knocked him over. He asked her to dance and made jokes about her clumsiness, but she felt it would be the best way to get over being mad at Aang. Why was she even mad at Aang again? What was so wrong about him thinking about... her?

She figured it was just the fact that they'd only 'confessed' their feelings for each other less than a day ago and he was already up for admitting stuff like... that.

But it was her fault. She _did_ ask.

"Excuse me," Aang's voice brought her back to reality. "May I cut in?"

Katara flushed scarlet and the boy nodded, bowing to both Aang and Katara. Probably just the fact that he was the Avatar. Maybe even because everybody in the history of existance thought they were together.

And maybe they were.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Katara asked in a half calm, half annoyed voice.

"No," he said, a smirk on his features.

She rolled her eyes but he took her waist by the hands and spoke again.

"Are you going to forgive me?"

Katara did what she could and put her own hands on his shoulder. Her blush slowly dissapated.

"You know I can't stay mad at you, Aang..." the waterbender pulled him closer to her, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning into him.

"So am I forgiven?"

"Hmm... can I stay mad at you for just a little longer?"

He tightened his grip.

"You're asking me?" She replied by nodding into the crook of his neck. "Then, as long as we can stay like this."

"I could stay like this forever. Just try to make sure you're not thinking anything you shouldn't be this time," she said in a playful tone, the blush returning to her cheeks.

He laughed at her light-heartedly.

"You know, I bet you think it sometimes, too."

"What?" she questioned, not pulling away from him but softening her hold.

"You heard me."

"I'm not answering that."

He smirked again.

"I never asked you a question."

"I know- I... uh... that's not fair," she sighed.

"Who said I was playing fair?"

He pulled her back to look at him, then leaned in and kissed her. She kissed him in return, but soon put her head on his and smiled.

"I'm still mad at you."

And with that she continued were they left off.

Luckily for them, Sokka never caught them. He was probably too busy gorging or something like that. Maybe he was doing the exact same thing as they were right now.

"Hey, Katara?"

She smiled with her beautiful, contagious smile.

"Yeah?"

"What'd you ask Zuko you wanted from this party?"

Her mouth widened, flashing her teeth even more.

It was about a month ago. They got a letter from Zuko asking if they could have anything from his party, it would be done or bought or created; whatever was needed to accomplish it. She closed her eyes remembering exactly what she requested. Interestingly enough, the note she sent off to the Fire Lord didn't even matter. She already got her wish. She already obtained what she wanted and much, much more.

"A dance with the Avatar," she replied, pulling him back to her as they shuffled their feet on the pristine glass floor.

Aang mimicked her smile.

"I think that can be arranged."

He pushed away from her left side, causing her to flail outwards exoticly. He twirled her, dipped her, and molded to her body again.

"Better?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Much."

--

Even though it had been a long and extremely confusing day, Aang and Katara made the best out of it.

Before going to sleep that night, Aang had another vision of Minsu. It was strange. Seeing him disappear before his eyes... He would've went to jail and that would've been better than having his soul destroyed.

He sighed in his bed, sighed for Minsu's soul. His life. Everything happened so fast...

He brought his eyebrows together, concentrating. Remembering how it happened. What happened. Why it happened. Was Cho-Chai such a threat that Aang had to be pulled into the spirit world to have Kyoshi talk to him about it? He did destroy souls... but then why couldn't she speak of it.

He supposed it didn't matter. He would just live in the moment. Live in the present; of today.

He smiled for Katara. Her life. Her love.

It could've been her that he took.

The sigh returned.

This was a cruel and unfair world they lived in. Well... for some. For others it was a happy, productive, and amazing world. Aang thought about how this could be. How for some people, like Minsu - it was unfair. Like a battle that could never be won. But for some others, like Aang - there was always hope.

He realized his answer.

It was a _strange_ world.


	19. Epilogue

**A/N: Yeah. I know... It seems like it went by so fast, but to tell you the truth I'm getting kinda bored of it. This is mostly because when I was writing it, I didn't give it my full potential and it ended up pretty bad in my mind. Maybe if I feel generous to this story I'll revise it later and make it longer and more interesting. But for now, Minsu _is_dead, and I suppose I'll just keep Azula dead as well. I was going to bring her back, but I don't really think they needed her character for anymore suspense. -.-**

**Anyway, sorry about the semi-self-inflicted rant. This is the epilogue and it occurs 10 years after... well the 'party'. It's kinda weird, but cute in my opinion. Doesn't really have much to do with the story line at all either... oh well. Please R&R. I love my reviewers, you guys rock!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

--

Epilogue

_10 years later..._

**_Zuko_**

"Papa?"

Zuko felt a sudden, yet delicate tug at the bottom of his pants. He glanced down and saw a little girl with long, dark brown hair and brilliant blue eyes. She pulled insistantly on his red attire, irritating Zuko a bit.

"Hold me, Papa."

Zuko picked the young, five year old water tribe girl up into his arms on cue.

"Papa?" the Fire Lord questioned her, looking into her gorgeous eyes that resembed her mothers so well. "I'm 'Papa' now?"

She nodded excitedly. "Can't I call you that?"

"Well... I don't think I deserve that name."

"But..." the young girl began to tear up, clutching at Zuko's Fire Lord clothing for dear life. "Why?"

"I... I don't think you're mommy would like you calling me that," he said simply, smiling at her.

She tilted her head in confusion.

"Mommy wouldn't... _Daddy_ doesn't care about me... Do you not care about me?"

Zuko instantly frowned.

"No, that's not it, Kira, I just... and I know daddy's been busy for awhile... but he's been training your brother with his new bendings... he can't be around all the time."

He watched as Kira's eyes began to release calm tears, one slidding down her tan cheek.

"But I... why can't I have those bendings, too? I don't want to just waterbend! I want to have all the bendings! I wanna bend the air... and... and the water, and the fire, and the earth, too! It's not fair."

The firebender sighed deeply. He knew this would happen eventually.

"Kira, only the Avatar can bend all four elements. You should be happy you can waterbend. Some people can't bend at all, so be glad you take after your mommy."

A quivering frown lay on Kira's lips. She sniffled a little and leaned back into Zuko's chest.

"Daddy doesn't care about me," she repeated, her body shaking slightly.

"That's not true, Kira." -He wiped a tear from her face- "He does care about you. He's just been busy with your brother. Teaching your brother the old ways is very stressful, especially since he takes after your uncle..."

The young waterbender smiled in the faintest way, blinking her remaining tears away.

"Okay, Papa."

Zuko shook his head.

"Just stick with Uncle Zuko, okay? I don't want mommy to think you're mad at your daddy."

"I'm not mad at daddy," she corrected, "Daddy said we're all connected. You're probably a desk..desin..descendint of one of daddy's other lives, maybe?"

Zuko laughed softly. She was actually right about that... he sighed.

"Can I call you Zuzu?" Kira asked suddenly.

"Zu... Zuzu?"

She nodded.

"Who told you about that nickname?"

The young Kira giggled deviously.

"Daddy," she said in a sing-song voice.

"Well, well, well..." Zuko replied, shaking his head with a tiny smile on his face.

"Next time you see daddy, call him 'Twinkletoes'."

"Okay!"

And with that, Kira jumped from the Fire Lord's arms and ran out the door to the room. Zuko shook his head yet again, laughing slighty to himself.

"Zuzu..."

--

**_Sokka_**

Even though he was 27, Sokka was still a lot like his teen self. He was sarcastic and meat-happy, and still madly in love with Suki. He was, though, also very jealous. Jealous of the Avatar... Jealous of his sister.

Suki for one reason or another, was having trouble concieving a child. She'd had two failed pregnancies, but the lovers keep trying in hopes to one day have a little happy-go-lucky kid running around the house. Aang and his sister on the other hand, had had three children, all happy, carefree kids.

They could even bend! Sokka highly doubted his kids would bend, since both the mother and father would be non-benders. He always hoped it would come from another generation... but Aang and Katara? No problem. Slap some luring gray eyes on their son and boom! You have an airbender, no doubt about it. Their daughter? A waterbender of course. How ironic...

But their third kid... she had blue-grey eyes, so that one was thrown up in the air he supposed. It didn't really matter. He knew it was wrong to envy them. He knew it would get him nowhere and only make matters worse for himself. Maybe their third kid would be a non-bender. He scoffed. Even then, it'd get the same treatment as the others. Just different training. Maybe... maybe Sokka could train her?

Sokka sighed deeply, trying not to get his hopes up. She'd probably be a bender anyway.

He strode over to his bed and began to fix the covers. He'd become quiet an active sleeper these days. Kicking and flailing as the night went by... he wondered how it affected Suki.

As Sokka was stranded and almost drowned in his own thoughts, he heard the front door to his house open.

"Uncle! Uncle!" he heard two voices scream in unison.

They stumbled into his room, messing with each other and smiling. It was like their own little language.

But, there they were. The highlight of Sokka's day... the Avatar's children... _his sister's_ children.

"Uncle!" the boy screamed again.

"Yes?"

"We... we wanna show you what we can do!" he pressed.

Kira nodded.

"Our bendings!"

Sokka sighed, but decided to turn it into a soft hum, just in case they picked up on the bad vibes. The two kids made their way outside.

"Daddy taught Seydin some stuff when they were at the Southern Temple. He said it was secret. But then he learned other stuffs, and those aren't..." Kira said in a quick manner, excitedly jumping up and down in place.

The boy called Seydin nodded contentedly. He resembled Sokka quite a bit from when he was younger, but his amazing gray eyes and pale colored skin threw it all off. His eyes were the exact replica of his fathers. He was seven years old, with dark brown, almost black hair, long enough to barely pass for a buzz cut.

Seydin did a sweep with his hands, causing a big ball of air to appear before him, the little boy mounting it and soaring off. Sokka recognized this as Aang's famous 'air scooter' and couldn't help but laugh as the young boy ran right into a tree. His sister did the same as her uncle, clutching her stomach in laughter when Seydin pushed off the ground in a daze.

"I-it's not that... f-funny..." he said, crossing his arms and stumbling while walking back towards the two.

Kira doubled over in another fit of laugher, before standing up and composing herself eloquently. She cleared her throat softly and got into a fighting stance much to Sokka's surprise.

"My turn," she said simply.

Kira swooped her arms in front of her. It took her several tries to do it, and she was disappointed each time, but finally she collected a very small amount of water from what seemed like nowhere. Sokka smirked. That was a hard move for even Katara to perfect.

She made a few forms with the liquid now floating between her hands, and Sokka and Seydin watched in amazement. She was very good.

When she was done, Sokka asked if Seydin would show some more, but he shook his head.

"Daddy said I can't."

Sokka was pretty confused by this whole 'secret' thing, but figured Aang had good reasons. He nodded and led the children back inside.

"Uncle Sokka? Will you tell us a story?" Kira said apprehensively, smiling an adorable smile at her uncle.

"You're parents should be here soon to pick you up," he replied.

"Pleeeease?" Kira pressed, giving a big boo-boo lip at one of the men she deeply admired.

Sokka finally gave it.

"Okay. Just one though."

Kira smiled and crawled into his lap. Seydin followed suit, cuddling into Sokka's side and resting his head on his shoulder.

"What kind of story?" Sokka questioned, "A romantic story? An adventurous story? A sad story?"

Kira instantly perked up.

"Romantic!" At this her brother frowned.

"Eww," he said simply, "I want something with fighting."

Sokka pondered this.

"How about both?"

His niece nodded vigorously and Seydin shrugged.

"Fine..." the young boy said.

Sokka smiled at the two and began with the story.

"One day there was-"

"You have to say 'Once upon a time'," Kira spat, frowning.

Sokka chuckled.

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful ice princess. She had amazing, snow white hair, and the prettiest blue eyes you've ever seen. Sadly, she was engaged by her father to a ruthless and horrible man, but fell in love with another man that she'd just met. He wasn't a prince or a king or anything; he was just a peasant of the water tribes. One day, a powerful army attacked the lovely utopia that she lived at, destroying some of it and scaring away it's citizens. They tried with all their might to stop the forces, but they weren't strong enough. Luckily, for them, there was an even greater power among them. It was someone very important to the ice princess' true love. He helped destroy the fire nation army, but even with his spectacular strength, it still wasn't enough. He was led to a magical oasis where he tried to contact the moon and tide spirits in order to win the small war. As he was in a trance contacting them, his own spirit left his body and he was left helpless. An evil man from the enemy army killed the moon spirit and the man had to combine with the tide to defeat him. The lovely ice princess owed her life to the moon spirit. She brought the moon back using her own life and going away forever to do her duties as the moon. The great and powerful man, along with the ice princess, did their part and ceased the attacks on the ice kingdom. Even to this day, the powerful man lives to protect again and keep the world in harmony. The princess is still the moon, and her old peasant love looks up to the sky from time to time to thank her for her sacrafices."

Kira was wide-eyed by the end of the story.

"Wow..." she gasped, a brilliant smile on her adorable features.

"Is that real?" Seydin asked, a hopeful look in his eyes.

Sokka nodded.

"Thank you uncle! You're the bestest uncle ever!" Kira hugged him and he laughed yet again.

"I'm your only uncle, sweetheart."

"Nu-uh. Uncle Haru, Uncle Bato, Uncle Zuko, Uncle Iroh, Uncle Bumi, Uncle Teo, Uncle Ty-"

"Okay, okay... I meant your real uncle, silly. Blood-related."

She looked at the ceiling and paused for a minute before looking back at Sokka.

"Oh!" she replied, slapping her forehead. "I knew that."

Sokka laughed.

At that there was a knock on the door.

"Coming!" he yelled. "That must be your parents..."

The water tribe warrior escorted the children to the door which he opened to see none other than his sister and the Avatar with a little three year old in his arms.

Katara lunged forward and brought Sokka into a loving embrace.

"Sokka! Thank you so much for watching them... I have great news!"

Sokka raised his eyebrow at her, pulling slightly away and looking her in the eyes for her to finish.

"I'm pregnant!"

He suddenly felt a lurch in his stomach as she uttered the words and glanced quickly over at Aang who had a genuinely innocent smile on his face. Sokka forced himself to smile back.

"But..." Katara said in a teasing manner, "I have even better news!"

"What?"

Katara's smile became even larger.

"It's twins!"

He looked away and refused to sigh. He just mimicked her huge smile and made sure his eyes played the part.

"But..." she continued, "Even _better_ news."

He gazed at her with false interest, still beaming his phony smile.

"There's someone else who's pregnant."

"What? Who? Aang isn't..."

Katara burst out laughing at this strange asumption, but picked up where she left off.

"I just talked to Suki... she's having a baby, Sokka."

It was like something struck Sokka on the side of the head, giving him a concussion. He felt strange and overwelmed. Like he was going to pass out. This was unbelievable news, something he'd always wanted to hear. He didn't even believe it at first, but as her words sunk in, the biggest possible smile was on his face, teeth flashing and all. He jumped at his sister, grabbing Aang's arm from behind her and pulling him into the hug as well. Tears began to form in his eyes, and he didn't even care how she came to learn this before him. He was just so thrilled it was unexplainable.

As the family of five, soon to be seven left, he entered his house once more, waiting for the arrival of his child-bearing wife.

All the envy directed to his sister and the Avatar was gone, never to return.

**A/N: Whoa, this is weird. Never had an author's note down here before... oh well, there's a first time for everthing and this is something I didn't feel I could put at the top.**

**There is seriously no point to this epilogue as you may have guessed, but I still like it. The whole thing I was trying to do at the top was make you think Kira was a Zutara baby... that was the goal (though she totally isn't, she's just aggravated that her dad is busy teaching Seydin airbending all the time. The actual story line is that she got dropped off at the palace for a week, and became endearingly close to Zuko in that time) anyway, if you thought Kira was a Zutara baby at first, I've done my job, and please tell me in a review if that's what you thought. :) Thanks! And please make sure to R&R. Stay tuned for other stories!**

**Katara**


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